Pierre de Fermat

About Pierre de Fermat

Who is it?: Lawyer
Birth Day: December 06, 1607
Birth Place: Beaumont-de-Lomagne, French
Education: University of Orléans (LL.B., 1626)
Known for: Contributions to number theory, analytic geometry, probability theory Folium of Descartes Fermat's principle Fermat's little theorem Fermat's Last Theorem Adequality Fermat's "difference quotient" method (See full list)
Fields: Mathematics and law
Influences: François Viète, Gerolamo Cardano, Diophantus

Pierre de Fermat

Pierre de Fermat was born on December 06, 1607 in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, French, is Lawyer. Pierre de Fermat was a 17th century French mathematician who made significant contributions towards the development of infinitesimal calculus. He did path breaking research in into number theory and discovered several new patterns in numbers which had puzzled mathematicians for centuries. Born into a wealthy family of high social ranking, he decided to pursue legal profession as was expected from young men of his social stature in those days in spite of his deep love for mathematics. But embarking on a professional field totally unrelated to the field of mathematics did not keep the young man from becoming an amateur mathematician in his own right. Initially he wrote about his mathematical discoveries to his friends in letters, often with little or no proofs. Later on as he gained in prominence, his findings were published and circulated widely. Highly inspired by the works of the Hellenistic mathematician Diophantus, he, along with René Descartes, went on to become one of the two leading mathematicians of the first half of the 17th century. His works played a pivotal role in the development of infinitesimal calculus and he made notable contributions to analytic geometry, probability, and optics
Pierre de Fermat is a member of Scientists

Does Pierre de Fermat Dead or Alive?

As per our current Database, Pierre de Fermat has been died on (1665-01-12)12 January 1665\n(aged 57)\nCastres, France.

🎂 Pierre de Fermat - Age, Bio, Faces and Birthday

When Pierre de Fermat die, Pierre de Fermat was 57 years old.

Popular As Pierre de Fermat
Occupation Scientists
Age 57 years old
Zodiac Sign Virgo
Born December 06, 1607 (Beaumont-de-Lomagne, French)
Birthday December 06
Town/City Beaumont-de-Lomagne, French
Nationality French

🌙 Zodiac

Pierre de Fermat’s zodiac sign is Virgo. According to astrologers, Virgos are always paying attention to the smallest details and their deep sense of humanity makes them one of the most careful signs of the zodiac. Their methodical approach to life ensures that nothing is left to chance, and although they are often tender, their heart might be closed for the outer world. This is a sign often misunderstood, not because they lack the ability to express, but because they won’t accept their feelings as valid, true, or even relevant when opposed to reason. The symbolism behind the name speaks well of their nature, born with a feeling they are experiencing everything for the first time.

🌙 Chinese Zodiac Signs

Pierre de Fermat was born in the Year of the Goat. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Goat enjoy being alone in their thoughts. They’re creative, thinkers, wanderers, unorganized, high-strung and insecure, and can be anxiety-ridden. They need lots of love, support and reassurance. Appearance is important too. Compatible with Pig or Rabbit.

Some Pierre de Fermat images

Biography/Timeline

1623

He attended the University of Orléans from 1623 and received a bachelor in civil law in 1626, before moving to Bordeaux. In Bordeaux he began his first serious mathematical researches, and in 1629 he gave a copy of his restoration of Apollonius's De Locis Planis to one of the mathematicians there. Certainly in Bordeaux he was in contact with Beaugrand and during this time he produced important work on maxima and minima which he gave to Étienne d'Espagnet who clearly shared mathematical interests with Fermat. There he became much influenced by the work of François Viète.

1630

In 1630, he bought the office of a councillor at the Parlement de Toulouse, one of the High Courts of Judicature in France, and was sworn in by the Grand Chambre in May 1631. He held this office for the rest of his life. Fermat thereby became entitled to change his name from Pierre Fermat to Pierre de Fermat. Fluent in six languages (French, Latin, Occitan, classical Greek, Italian and Spanish), Fermat was praised for his written verse in several languages and his advice was eagerly sought regarding the emendation of Greek texts.

1636

Fermat's pioneering work in analytic geometry (Methodus ad disquirendam maximam et minimam et de tangentibus linearum curvarum) was circulated in manuscript form in 1636 (based on results achieved in 1629), predating the publication of Descartes' famous La géométrie (1637), which exploited the work. This manuscript was published posthumously in 1679 in Varia opera mathematica, as Ad Locos Planos et Solidos Isagoge (Introduction to Plane and Solid Loci).

1654

Through their correspondence in 1654, Fermat and Blaise Pascal helped lay the foundation for the theory of probability. From this brief but productive collaboration on the Problem of points, they are now regarded as joint founders of probability theory. Fermat is credited with carrying out the first ever rigorous probability calculation. In it, he was asked by a professional gambler why if he bet on rolling at least one six in four throws of a die he won in the long term, whereas betting on throwing at least one double-six in 24 throws of two dice resulted in his losing. Fermat showed mathematically why this was the case.

1665

Pierre de Fermat died on January 12, 1665 at Castres, in the present-day department of Tarn. The oldest and most prestigious high school in Toulouse is named after him: the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat (fr). French Sculptor Théophile Barrau made a marble statue named Hommage à Pierre Fermat as a tribute to Fermat, now at the Capitole de Toulouse.

1994

Although Fermat claimed to have proven all his arithmetic theorems, few records of his proofs have survived. Many mathematicians, including Gauss, doubted several of his claims, especially given the difficulty of some of the problems and the limited mathematical methods available to Fermat. His famous Last Theorem was first discovered by his son in the margin in his father's copy of an edition of Diophantus, and included the statement that the margin was too small to include the proof. It seems that he had not written to Marin Mersenne about it. It was first proven in 1994, by Sir Andrew Wiles, using techniques unavailable to Fermat.

2014

In number theory, Fermat studied Pell's equation, perfect numbers, amicable numbers and what would later become Fermat numbers. It was while researching perfect numbers that he discovered Fermat's little theorem. He invented a factorization method—Fermat's factorization method—as well as the proof technique of infinite descent, which he used to prove Fermat's right triangle theorem which includes as a corollary Fermat's Last Theorem for the case n = 4. Fermat developed the two-square theorem, and the polygonal number theorem, which states that each number is a sum of three triangular numbers, four square numbers, five pentagonal numbers, and so on.

2017

Together with René Descartes, Fermat was one of the two leading mathematicians of the first half of the 17th century. According to Peter L. Bernstein, in his book Against the Gods, Fermat "was a Mathematician of rare power. He was an independent Inventor of analytic geometry, he contributed to the early development of calculus, he did research on the weight of the earth, and he worked on light refraction and optics. In the course of what turned out to be an extended correspondence with Pascal, he made a significant contribution to the theory of probability. But Fermat's crowning achievement was in the theory of numbers."

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