Lorenzo Mascheroni and Emmy Noether

Date: 11/15/95 at 11:29:46
From: Anonymous
Subject: History

Lorenzo Mascheroni made some kind of discovery?  Also, what woman 
mathematician was born in 1882 and at what U.S .college did she end her 
teaching career?

Date: 11/15/95 at 12:6:1
From: Doctor Sarah
Subject: Re: History

Hi again -

Here's some help with your questions.

You can find biographies of mathematicians and all kinds of other
information on math history by consulting the Math Forum's Internet
Mathematics Library:  

   http://mathforum.org/library/   
   http://mathforum.org/library/topics/history/   

2) There's a biography of Mascheroni on the Web at

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk:80/~history/Mathematicians/Mascheroni.html   

It says:

Mascheroni was a geometer who proved in 1797 that all Euclidean 
constructions can be made with compasses alone and so a ruler is not 
required. 

Mascheroni was ordained as a priest at the age of 17.  At first he 
taught rhetoric; then, from 1778, he taught physics and mathematics at 
the seminary at Bergamo.

In 1786 Mascheroni became professor of algebra and geometry at the 
University of Pavia. He later became rector of the university.

In Adnotationes ad calculum integrale Euleri (1790) Mascheroni 
calculated Euler's constant to 32 decimal places.  In fact only the 
first 19 places were correct and the rest was corrected by Johann von 
Soldner in 1809.  Mascheroni's work shows a deep understanding of the 
Euler's calculus.

Mascheroni is also known as a poet and he dedicated one of his books 
Geometria del compasso (1797) to Napoleon in verse.  In this work 
Mascheroni proved that all Euclidean constructions can be made with 
compasses alone, so a straight edge in not needed.  In fact this was 
(unknown to Mascheroni) proved in 1672 by a little known Danish 
mathematician Georg Mohr.

Mascheroni also wrote a well-composed book Nuove ricerchi su 
l'equilibrio delle volte (1785) on statics.

3) For your woman mathematician born in 1882, try looking up

   http://www.scottlan.edu/lriddle/women/noether.htm   

for a biography of Emmy Noether, who was born in 1882 and after coming 
to the United States taught at Bryn Mawr College until her death in 
1935.

For more about Women Mathematicians point your Web browser to 

   http://www.scottlan.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm   

-Doctor Sarah,  The Geometry Forum