Karl Heinrich Gräffe (7 November 1799 – 2 December 1873) was a German
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
, who was professor at
University of Zurich
The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...
.
Life and work
Gräffe's father migrated to
North America, leaving the family business of jewelry in his hands. Even so, Gräffe succeeded, studying at night, entering the ''
Carolineum'' of Brunswick in 1821. From 1823, he studied 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 ...
with professors
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 ...
and Thibaut, doctorate in 1825.
In 1828 he was appointed professor of the
Zurich Institute of Technology and, as of 1833, associate professor at the
University of Zurich
The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...
from the date of its creation. Simultaneously, also he was professor of the ''Obere Industrieschule''.
Gräffe is known for having been the first to enunciate a method to approximate the roots of any polynomial, a method known today as the
Dandelin-Gräffe method.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Graffe, Karl Heinrich
1799 births
1873 deaths
19th-century German mathematicians
Scientists from Braunschweig
People from the Duchy of Brunswick
Technical University of Braunschweig alumni
University of Göttingen alumni
Academic staff of the University of Zurich