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.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Gauss
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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)
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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)