johann carl friedrich gauss

Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (German: Gauß [kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈɡaʊs] ; Latin: Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 1777 – 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science. He ranks among history's most influential mathematicians and has been referred to as the "Prince of Mathematicians". He was director of the Göttingen Observatory and professor for astronomy for nearly half a century, from 1807 until his death in 1855. While still a student at the University of Göttingen, he propounded several mathematical theorems. Gauss completed his masterpieces Disquisitiones Arithmeticae and Theoria motus corporum coelestium as a private scholar. He gave the second and third complete proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra, made contributions to number theory, and developed the theories of binary and ternary quadratic forms. He is considered one of the discoverers of non-Euclidean geometry alongside Nikolai Lobachevsky and János Bolyai and coined that term.