Gauss

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Introduction

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 1-3

3. Childhood and Youth, 1777–1795

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 5-10

4. The Contemporary Political and Social Situation

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 11-14

5. Student Years in Göttingen, 1795–1798

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 15-17

6. The Organization of Gauss’s Collected Works

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 18-20

7. The Number-Theoretical Work

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 21-35

8. The Influence of Gauss’s Arithmetical Work

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 36-38

9. The Return to Brunswick. Dissertation. The Ceres Orbit

   • W. K. Bühler

   Pages 39-47

10. Marriage. Later Brunswick Years

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 48-53

11. The Political Scene in Germany, 1789–1848

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 54-59

12. Family Life. The Move to Göttingen

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 60-65

13. Death of Johanna and Second Marriage. The First Years as Professor in Göttingen

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 66-72

14. Section VII of Disqu. Arithm.

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 73-78

15. Gauss’s Style

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 79-81

16. The Astronomical Work. Elliptic Functions

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 82-90

17. Modular Forms. The Hypergeometric Function

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 91-94

18. Geodesy and Geometry

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 95-109

19. The Call to Berlin and Gauss’s Social Role. The End of the Second Marriage

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 110-120

20. Physics

    • W. K. Bühler

    Pages 121-130

Procreare iucundum, sed parturire molestum. (Gauss, sec. Eisenstein) The plan of this book was first conceived eight years ago. The manuscript developed slowly through several versions until it attained its present form in 1979. It would be inappropriate to list the names of all the friends and advisors with whom I discussed my various drafts but I should like to mention the name of Mr. Gary Cornell who, besides discussing with me numerous details of the manuscript, revised it stylistically. There is much interest among mathematicians to know more about Gauss's life, and the generous help I received has certainly more to do with this than with any individual, positive or negative, aspect of my manuscript. Any mistakes, errors of judgement, or other inadequacies are, of course, the author's responsi­ bility. The most incisive and, in a way, easiest decisions I had to make were those of personal taste in the choice and treatment of topics. Much had to be omitted or could only be discussed in a cursory way.

• DEX
• Gauss, Carl Friedrich /Biographie
• Hypergeometric function
• arithmetic
• elliptic function
• form
• function
• functions
• geometry
• modular form
• organization
• literary diction

"This biography is addressed to the contemporary professional mathematician who is assumed to be a specialist with limited historical interests and knowledge. Although the fifteen chapters, supplemented by several shorter interchapters, are basically chronological, particular aspects of Gauss's work are stressed in particular chapters (e.g., potential theory in Chapter 11) so that for most of the book the reader will be outside his narrow specialty. Inevitably the life of the "Prince of Mathematicians" raises many important historical questions, such as the relationship between pure and applied mathematics and of both to the political and economic background, communication and cooperation, conservatism and innovation, and personal and social life..." -- MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS

• Mt. Kisco, USA

  W. K. Bühler

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