Paul Gustav Samuel Stäckel (20 August 1862,
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
– 12 December 1919,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
) 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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, active in the areas of
differential geometry
Differential geometry is a Mathematics, mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of Calculus, single variable calculus, vector calculus, lin ...
,
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
non-Euclidean geometry
In mathematics, non-Euclidean geometry consists of two geometries based on axioms closely related to those that specify Euclidean geometry. As Euclidean geometry lies at the intersection of metric geometry and affine geometry, non-Euclidean ge ...
. In the area of
prime number theory, he used the term ''
twin prime
A twin prime is a prime number that is either 2 less or 2 more than another prime number—for example, either member of the twin prime pair or In other words, a twin prime is a prime that has a prime gap of two. Sometimes the term ''twin prime' ...
'' (in its
German form, "Primzahlzwilling") for the first time.
After passing his ''Abitur'' in 1880 he studied mathematics and physics at the
University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, but also listened to lectures on philosophy, psychology, education, and history. A year later he qualified for teaching in higher education and then taught at
''Gymnasien'' in Berlin. In 1885 he wrote his doctoral dissertation under
Leopold Kronecker
Leopold Kronecker (; 7 December 1823 – 29 December 1891) was a German mathematician who worked on number theory, abstract algebra and logic, and criticized Georg Cantor's work on set theory. Heinrich Weber quoted Kronecker
as having said, ...
and
Karl Weierstraß. In 1891 he completed his ''Habilitation'' at the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
. Later he worked as a professor 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 ...
(''
außerordentlicher Professor'' from 1895 to 1897), the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...
(''
ordentlicher Professor
Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.
Overview
Appointment grades
* (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'')
* (''W3'')
* (''W2'')
* (''W2'', ...
'', 1897 to 1905),
University of Hannover (1905 to 1908), the
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association.
KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Karlsruhe (), founde ...
(1908 to 1913), and the
University of Heidelberg
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...
(1913 to 1919).
Stäckel worked on both mathematics and the history of mathematics. He edited the letters exchanged between
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; ; ; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist, who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science. He was director of the Göttingen Observatory and ...
and
Wolfgang Bolyai, made contributions to editions of the collected works of Euler and Gauss (for whose works he wrote ''Gauss als Geometer''), and edited the ''Geometrischen Untersuchungen'' by Wolfgang and Johann Bolyai (published in 1913). Additionally he translated works of
Jacob Bernoulli
Jacob Bernoulli (also known as James in English or Jacques in French; – 16 August 1705) was a Swiss mathematician. He sided with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz during the Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy and was an early proponent of Leibniz ...
,
Johann Bernoulli
Johann Bernoulli (also known as Jean in French or John in English; – 1 January 1748) was a Swiss people, Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is known for his contributions to infin ...
,
Augustin Louis Cauchy,
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler ( ; ; ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss polymath who was active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, geographer, and engineer. He founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made influential ...
,
Joseph-Louis Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia[Adrien-Marie Legendre
Adrien-Marie Legendre (; ; 18 September 1752 – 9 January 1833) was a French people, French mathematician who made numerous contributions to mathematics. Well-known and important concepts such as the Legendre polynomials and Legendre transforma ...](_blank)
,
Carl Gustav Jacobi
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (; ; 10 December 1804 – 18 February 1851) was a German mathematician who made fundamental contributions to elliptic functions, dynamics, differential equations, determinants and number theory.
Biography
Jacobi was ...
from French and Latin into German for the series ''
Ostwalds Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften''.
In 1904 he was an invited speaker at the
International Congress of Mathematicians
The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
The Fields Medals, the IMU Abacus Medal (known before ...
in Heidelberg.
In 1905 he was the president of the
Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung. His doctoral students include
Paul Riebesell.
Works
''Über die Bewegung eines Punktes auf einer Fläche'' 1885, Dissertation
* ''Die Integration der Hamilton-Jacobischen Differentialgleichung mittelst Separation der Variablen'', 1891, Habilitation
* ''Elementare Dynamik der mathematischen Wissenschaft'' in: Encyclopädie der mathematischen Wissenschaft IV,1 (1908)
* several papers in the ''Mathematischen Annalen'' (from 1890 to 1909)
* numerous papers in "Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse" from 1896 to 1917.
* with
Friedrich Engel''Theorie der Parallellinien von Euklid bis auf Gauss'' 1895
References
External links
*
*
*
* http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2005/2127/ Briefnachlass von Paul Stäckel im Nachlass von
Friedrich Engel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stackel, Paul
1862 births
1919 deaths
19th-century German mathematicians
20th-century German mathematicians
German historians of mathematics
Differential geometers
German number theorists
University of Halle alumni
Academic staff of the University of Kiel
Academic staff of Leibniz University Hannover
Academic staff of Heidelberg University
Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Presidents of the German Mathematical Society