Peter gustav lejeune dirichlet biography of christopher

In number theory , he proved special cases of Fermat's last theorem and created analytic number theory. In analysis , he advanced the theory of Fourier series and was one of the first to give the modern formal definition of a function. In mathematical physics, he studied potential theory , boundary-value problems , and heat diffusion , and hydrodynamics.

Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet was a German mathematician.

Although his surname is Lejeune Dirichlet, he is commonly referred to by his mononym Dirichlet , in particular for results named after him. His father Johann Arnold Lejeune Dirichlet was the postmaster, merchant, and city councilor. Although his family was not wealthy and he was the youngest of seven children, his parents supported his education.

They enrolled him in an elementary school and then private school in hope that he would later become a merchant.

Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet was a German mathematician who made valuable contributions to number theory, analysis, and mechanics.

The young Dirichlet, who showed a strong interest in mathematics before age 12, persuaded his parents to allow him to continue his studies. In they sent him to the Gymnasium Bonn [ de ] under the care of Peter Joseph Elvenich , a student his family knew. In , Dirichlet moved to the Jesuit Gymnasium in Cologne , where his lessons with Georg Ohm helped widen his knowledge in mathematics.

He left the gymnasium a year later with only a certificate, as his inability to speak fluent Latin prevented him from earning the Abitur. Dirichlet again persuaded his parents to provide further financial support for his studies in mathematics, against their wish for a career in law. In he was recommended to General Maximilien Foy , who hired him as a private tutor to teach his children German , the wage finally allowing Dirichlet to become independent from his parents' financial support.

As General Foy died in November and he could not find any paying position in France, Dirichlet had to return to Prussia. Humboldt, planning to make Berlin a center of science and research, immediately offered his help to Dirichlet, sending letters in his favour to the Prussian government and to the Prussian Academy of Sciences.