GAUSS, CARL FRIEDRICH, one of the most celebrated mathe maticians of his day, was born at Brunswick, April 23, 1777. Ho displayed early such marked talent for the abstract sciences, that the Duke of Brunswick, Charles Ferdinand, undertook the charges of his education. In the thesis which he maintained in 1799, before obtaining his degree of Doctor, he evinced his talent by analysing the previous methods for proving the truth of the fundamental axioms in algebra, giving one of his own still more exact. In the same year he published his llemonstratio nova theorematic omnem functionem algebraicam rationalem integram anus variabilis in factores reales pried vel eecundi gradus reselvi posse :' and in 1801 this was followed by his' Disquiei Lianas Arithineticse; published at Leipzig, in 8vo. The last-mentioned work showed his rapid advance in the mathematical sciences. Tnere was so much of novel speculation in this treatise as to excite some merriment among the French scientific men ; but their ridicule failed to affect his reputation. In 1807 he was appointed professor of astro nomy in the University of Gottingen ; and in 1816 was named a privy councillor. In the beginning of the present century the new planets were discovered, and ho propounded a method for calculating their courses, in his ' Theoria motus corporuiu coalostium; published at Hamburg, in 4to, in 1809; to which Professor Paucker added, in a separate pamphlet, a geometrical formula, more definitely proving the truth of the principle of the curvilinear triangulation upon which Gauss's comparisons depended. Gauss', work greatly contributed to the succeeding more exact and useful application of the astronomical observations to which, about this time, the attention of the scientific world began to be directed. His ' Theoria combinationis observa. tionum erroribus minimis obnoxim; published at Gottingen in 1823, in 4to, with the supplement, issued in 1823 from the same place, was a great addition to scientific knowledge.
On the completion of the Gottingen observatory, Gauss devoted himself to astronomical observations. On the appointment of the government commission for extending the Danish admeasurement of an arc of the meridian to the kingdom of Hanover, he invented the means of making distant stations visible, by reflected sunlight, by an instru ment. known as the heliotrope. Afterwards he was zealously occupied
with investigations as to terrestrial or telluric magnetism, for which pur pose the government caused a building to be erected for his experi ments near the observatory. By the labours of himself and W. Weber, the science of telluric magnetism assumed a new and important phase. The theory was explained by them in conjunction in the Transactions of tho Magnetic Union, under the title of 'Reaultate aus dem Beebe.:litungen des Maguetischen Vereins in Jabre 1836, herausgegebea von C. F. Gauss and Wilhelm Weber,' published at Gottingen in 1337, with another volume for 1839, published at Leipzig in 1840, with an 'Atlas des Erdmagnetismus, nach den Elementen des Theorie entesarfen.' In 1841. he published at Gottingen his Dioptrische Unterauchungen' Dioptrical Investigations'). His latest labours were directed to the theory of geodesy, the first essay of a series upon which he published at Gottingen in 1844, under the title of Unter. suchungen fiber Gegenatande der hoheru Geodesic.' In this, with a modest pride, he speaks of the trigonometrical admeaeurement as "partly executed by myself, and partly under my guidance." This was contributed to the Transactions' of the Royal Scientific Society at Giittingen, and appeared in the second volume. He died on February 23, 1855.
We do not attempt to give a complete list of Gauss's works : he contributed many papers to scientific publications, but the following are among the more interesting that have appeared separately, in addition to those already mentioned : —` Methodum peculiarcm elevationern poll determinandi explicat.' Gottingen,' 1803, 4to ; `Dis quisitiones generales circa superficies curvus,' Giittingen, 1828, 4to; Theoria residuorum biquadraticorum Corn mentatio prima,' Gottingen, 1828,4to; 'Iutensitas via magnetism terrestris ad mensuratn absolutatn revocata,' Gottingen, 1833, 4to.