Pierre de Fermat
Born: 17 Aug 1601 in Beaumont-de-Lomages, France
Died: 12 Jan 1665 in Castres, France
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Fermat was a lawyer and government official most remembered for his work in number theory, in particular for Fermat's Last Theorem.
Fermat was a lawyer and government official in Toulouse for most of his life, mathematics was his hobby.
In 1636 Fermat proposed a system of analytic geometry similar to the one that Descartes would propose a year later. Fermat's work was based on a reconstruction of the work of Apollonius used the algebra of Viète. Similar work led Fermat to discover methods similar to differentiation and integration for finding maxima and minima.
Fermat is most remembered for his work in number theory, in particular for Fermat's Last Theorem. This theorem states that
x
+ y = z
has no non-zero integer solutions for x, y and z when n > 2. Fermat wrote, in the margin of Bachet's translation of Diophantus
I have discovered a truly remarkable proof which this margin is too small to contain.
It is now believed that Fermat's 'proof' was wrong although it is impossible to be completely certain. The truth of Fermat's assertion was proved in June 1993 by the British mathematician Andrew Wiles, but Wiles withdrew the claim to have a proof when problems emerged later in 1993. In November 1994 Wiles again claimed to have a correct proof.
Unsuccessful attempts to prove the theorem over a 300 year period led to the discovery of commutative ring theory and a wealth of other mathematical discoveries.
Fermat is noted as the discoverer of Fermat's principal of least time. In a correspondence with Pascal he founded the mathematical theory of probability.
Mersenne, a friend of Fermat's who was also interested in number theory, belonged to the religious order of the Minims, and his cell in Paris was a frequent meeting place for Fermat, Pascal, Gassendi, and others.
Fermat published almost nothing during his lifetime, announcing his discoveries in letters to friends. Sometimes he noted results in the margins of his books. His work was largely forgotten until it was rediscovered in the middle of the 19th century.
References elsewhere in this archive:
Tell me about Fermat's Last Theorem
Tell me about Fermats work on Prime numbers
Tell me about Fermat's work on Minimal Paths
Show me a triangle theorem by Fermat
Tell me about Fermat's contributions to Calculus
Among the curves that Fermat worked on were the Cissoid of Diocles, the Cycloid, Fermat's spiral and the (so-called) Witch of Agnesi
Other Web sites:
Rice University, USA
Clarke University, USA
References:
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