Johann Heinrich Lambert
| Johann Heinrich Lambert | |
|---|---|
Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777)
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| Born |
26 August 1728 Republic of Mulhouse, Swiss Confederation (currently Alsace, France) |
| Died | 25 September 1777 (aged 49) Berlin, Prussia |
| Residence | Switzerland, Prussia |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Fields | Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and philosopher |
| Known for |
First Proof that π is irrational Lambert W function |
| Influences | Aristotle, Bacon, Euler, Wolff |
| Influenced | Kant, Mendelssohn |
First Proof that π is irrational
Lambert-Beer-Bouguer Law
Johann Heinrich Lambert (German: [ˈlambɛʁt], Jean-Henri Lambert in French; 26 August 1728 – 25 September 1777) was a Swiss polymath who made important contributions to the subjects of mathematics, physics (particularly optics), philosophy, astronomy and map projections.
Lambert was born in 1728 into a Huguenot family in the city of Mulhouse (now in Alsace, France), at that time an exclave of Switzerland. Leaving school at 12, he continued to study in his free time whilst undertaking a series of jobs. These included assistant to his father (a tailor), a clerk at a nearby iron works, a private tutor, secretary to the editor of Basler Zeitung and, at the age of 20, private tutor to the sons of Count Salis in Chur. Travelling Europe with his charges (1756–1758) allowed him to meet established mathematicians in the German states, The Netherlands, France and the Italian states. On his return to Chur he published his first books (on optics and cosmology) and began to seek an academic post. After a few short posts he was rewarded (1763) by an invitation to a position at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin, where he gained the sponsorship of Frederick II of Prussia, and became a friend of Euler. In this stimulating and financially stable environment, he worked prodigiously until his death in 1777.
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