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Born
Jules Henri Poincaré -
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Study of Mathematics
Poincaré grew up in Nancy and studied mathematics from 1873 to 1875 at the École Polytechnique in Paris. -
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While being a student
He discovered new types of complex functions that solved a wide variety of differential equations. This major work involved one of the first “mainstream” applications of non-Euclidean geometry, a subject discovered by the Hungarian János Bolyai and the Russian Nikolay Lobachevsky about 1830 but not generally accepted by mathematicians until the 1860s and ’70s. -
PhD. in Mathematics
He continued his studies at the Mining School in Caen before receiving his doctorate from the University of Paris in 1879 -
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The beginning of his career and fame
Poincaré published a long series of papers on non-Euclidean geometry in 1880–84 that effectively made his name internationally. -
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calculating orbit of the other planets
In 1885 an added inducement to take the next step presented itself when King Oscar II of Sweden offered a prize for anyone who could establish the stability of the solar system. This would require showing that equations of motion for the planets could be solved and the orbits of the planets shown to be curves that stay in a bounded region of space for all time. Poincaré was awarded the prize in 1889 -
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New methods of calculating orbital motion
After the award was given in 1889, he found faults in his study, being that the orbits could be chaotic and cause large, unpredictable changes in the orbit. Poincaré summarized his new mathematical methods in astronomy in Les Méthodes nouvelles de la mécanique céleste, 3 vol. -
Father of algebraic Topology
Poincaré’s Analysis Situs (1895) was an early systematic treatment of topology, and he is often called the father of algebraic topology. -
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Philosopher of Math and Science
About 1900 Poincaré acquired the habit of writing up accounts of his work in the form of essays and lectures for the general public. Published as La Science et l’hypothèse (1903; Science and Hypothesis), La Valeur de la science (1905; The Value of Science), and Science et méthode (1908; Science and Method), these essays form the core of his reputation as a philosopher of mathematics and science -
Death
Jules Henri Poincaré Paris, France -
Cite
Gray, Jeremy John. "Henri Poincaré". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jul. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Poincare. Accessed 28 March 2023.