Louis Saalschütz (1 December 1835 — 25 May 1913) was a
Prussian
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
-
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish
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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, known for his contributions to
number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...
and
mathematical analysis
Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series ( ...
.
Biography
Louis Saalschütz was born to a Jewish family in
Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
,
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, the son of
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
Joseph Levin Saalschütz.
From 1854 to 1860 he studied mathematics and physics at the
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...
. In 1861 he received his doctorate under the supervision of
Franz Ernst Neumann
Franz Ernst Neumann (11 September 1798 – 23 May 1895) was a German mineralogist and physicist. He devised the first formulas to calculate inductance. He also formulated Neumann's law for molecular heat. In electromagnetism, he is credited for ...
, with the dissertation ''Ueber die Wärmeveränderungen in den Höheren Erdschichten Unter dem Einfluss des Nicht-periodischen Temperaturwechsels an der Oberfläche''.
From 1861 to 1882 he was teacher of mathematics, mechanics, and engineering at the Royal School of Mechanics in Königsberg and the University of Königsberg, where he became an
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...
in 1875 and
full professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...
in 1888.
Hypergeometric Series
F. J. Whipple coined the phrase "Saalschützian" for generalized hypergeometric
series
where one of the numerator parameters is a negative integer and the sum of the denominator
parameters is one plus the sum of the numerator parameters. Nowadays it is also used for more general
series with that property.
The "Saalschutz theorem" is
References
*
1835 births
1913 deaths
Mathematicians from the Kingdom of Prussia
19th-century German mathematicians
20th-century German mathematicians
German people of Jewish descent
{{Mathematician-stub