Ruffini

Paolo Ruffini

Born: 22 Sept 1765 in Valentano, Papal States (now Italy)
Died: 10 May 1822 in Modena, Duchy of Modena (now Italy)

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Ruffini was appointed professor of mathematics at Modena in 1787, then professor of clinical medicine and applied mathematics in 1799. He left to spend 7 years teaching applied mathematics in the military school in Modena. Dismissed for a year for refusing to take a civil oath, he became rector of the University of Modena in 1814.

Ruffini was the first to state that the quintic equation could not be solved by radicals. He published a number of proofs of this result using some powerful group theory methods which he developed for the purpose. His proofs were essentially ignored by mathematicians of the time. The notation is very poor and certainly the proofs have gaps but he deserves more credit than has been given him for both the group theory and the quintic results.

Abel published the first accepted proof of the insolubility of the quintic equation although it also has gaps.

References elsewhere in this archive:

Tell me about Ruffini's part in the development of group theory

References:

  1. Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  2. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica
  3. G Barbensi, Paolo Ruffini nel suo tempo (Modena, 1955).
  4. E Carruccio, Paolo Ruffini matematico e pensatore, Memorie della R Accademia di scienze, lettere ed arti in Modena 8 (1966), 53-69.
  5. R G Ayoub, Paolo Ruffini's Contributions to the Quintic, Archive for History of Exact Sciences 23 (1980), 253- . 
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JOC/EFR February 1996