Carl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, magnetism, astronomy and optics. Sometimes known as "the prince of mathematicians", Gauss introduced concepts which have had a profound impact in many areas and his work is ranked alongside that of Newton and Archimedes. Gauss was a child prodigy, and he made his first ground-breaking mathematical discoveries while still a teenager. He completed Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, his magnum opus, at the age of 24. This work was fundamental in consolidating number theory as a discipline, and it has shaped the direction of modern research up to the present day.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1578: King Sebastian of Portugal disappeared in the Battle of Alcazarquivir, leading to a dynastic crisis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_of_Portugal)

1790: A newly passed tariff act in the United States established the Revenue Cutter Service. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Cutter_Service)

1914: World War I: Adhering to the terms in the 1839 Treaty of London, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in response to the German invasion of Belgium. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London%2C_1839)

1964: Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Two destroyers of the U.S. Navy were reportedly attacked by North Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_Incident)

1983: A coup d'état led by Blaise Compaoré made Thomas Sankara President of Upper Volta. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sankara)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains: round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away. -- Percy Bysshe Shelley -- (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley)