Christian Ludwig Gerling (10 July 1788 – 15 January 1864) studied under

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

, obtaining his doctorate in 1812 for a thesis entitled: ''Methodi proiectionis orthographicae usum ad calculos parallacticos facilitandos explicavit simulque eclipsin solarem die,'' at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. He is notable for his work on

geodetic Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

s and in 1927 some 60 letters of correspondence between Gerling and Gauss on the topic were published. He is also notable as the doctoral advisor of

Julius Plücker Julius Plücker (16 June 1801 – 22 May 1868) was a German mathematician and physicist. He made fundamental contributions to the field of analytical geometry and was a pioneer in the investigations of cathode rays that led eventually to the dis ...

. Gerling, whose father was also called Christian Ludwig Gerling and was a pastor at the St. Jacobi church, was born in Hamburg and attended the Johanneum. In 1817, he became professor of mathematics at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

References

*Schaeffer C, ed. ''Briefwechsel zwischen Carl Friedrich Gauss und Christian Ludwig Gerling''. Berlin, Otto Elsner; 1927
reviewed DE Smith (1928) ''Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society'' 34: 665–666

External links

Gerling's 12-Piece Dissection of an Irregular Tetrahedron into Its Mirror Image
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerling, Christian Ludwig 19th-century German mathematicians 19th-century German astronomers 19th-century German physicists Scientists from Hamburg University of Göttingen alumni University of Marburg faculty 1788 births 1864 deaths