Diederik Johannes Korteweg (31 March 1848 – 10 May 1941) was a Dutch

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 ...

. He is now best remembered for his work on the Korteweg–de Vries equation, together with Gustav de Vries.

Early life and education

Diederik Korteweg's father was a judge in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Korteweg received his schooling there, studying at a special academy which prepared students for a military career. However, he decided against a military career and, making the first of his changes of direction, he began his studies at the Polytechnical School of Delft. Korteweg originally intended to become an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

but, although he maintained an interest in mechanics and other applications of mathematics throughout his life, his love of mathematics made him change direction for the second time when he was not enjoying the technical courses at Delft. He decided to terminate his course and pull out of his studies so that he could concentrate on mathematics. He then enrolled in mathematics and mechanics courses qualifying him to become a high school teacher. In 1878, Korteweg received a Ph.D. from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. His dissertation was titled ''On the Propagation of Waves in Elastic Tubes''. He was the first Ph.D. recipient from that University after it received authority to grant the doctorate.''staff.science'' In 1881, Korteweg joined the University of Amsterdam as Professor of Mathematics, Mechanics and Astronomy. While there he published a notable paper in ''Philosophical Magazine'' titled "On the Change of Form of Long Waves . . ". He stepped down as a professor in 1918. Some of his famous students were Gustav de Vries,

Gerrit Mannoury Gerrit Mannoury (17 May 1867 – 30 January 1956) was a Dutch philosopher and mathematician, professor at the University of Amsterdam and communist, known as the central figure in the signific circle, a Dutch counterpart of the Vienna circle.J ...

and

Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (; ; 27 February 1881 – 2 December 1966), usually cited as L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and philosopher, who worked in topology, set theory, measure theory and compl ...

Honors and societies

Korteweg was a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

for 60 years. He was a member of the Dutch Mathematical Society for 75 years. He was editor of ''Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde'' from 1897 to his death in 1941. An experiment conducted aboard the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

in 2003 (''Miscible Fluids in Microgravity'') was mounted to prove one of Korteweg's theories. NASA website, accessed 7 Sept. 2009 The asteroid 9685 Korteweg and the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics are named after him.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Korteweg, Diederik Johannes 1848 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Dutch mathematicians Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from 's-Hertogenbosch Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Delft University of Technology alumni Fluid dynamicists 19th-century Dutch mathematicians

Early life and education

Honors and societies

See also

References

Further reading

External links