Mathematics and social utopias in France : Olinde Rodrigues and his times / Simon Altmann, Eduardo L. Ortiz, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Altmann, Simon L., 1924-2022, editor.

Ortiz, Eduardo L., editor.

Series:

History of mathematics ; Volume 28.

History of Mathematics ; Volume 28

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rodrigues, Olinde, 1794-1850.

Rodrigues, Olinde.

Mathematicians--France--History--19th century--Biography.

Mathematicians.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (170 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Providence, Rhode Island : American Mathematical Society : London Mathematical Society, 2005.

Summary:

A mathematician, a social reformer within Saint-Simon's utopian-socialist movement, and later a prosperous banker, Olinde Rodrigues is a fascinating figure of the city of Paris in the first half of the nineteenth century. His many interests and associations make him a remarkable character in the history of nineteenth-century mathematics. Since archival resources on Rodrigues are not abundant and since they are scattered throughout a variety of archives-from large to very small-studying him presents difficult historiographic challenges. These are met for the first time in this book, written by a team of mathematicians, historians of mathematics, and historians of culture and society for people interested in any of these fields. An effort has been made to give continuity to these different contributions and to focus them around different aspects of Rodrigues's absorbing life and interesting mathematical work. The starting chapters attempt to recreate the scientific and social background in which he moved in Paris. His contributions to a variety of mathematical fields (orthogonal polynomials, combinatorics, and rotations) are discussed in the chapters that follow. The book ends with a discussion on contemporary responses to his work in mathematics. Sufficient background is given in the discussion of Rodrigues's work in mathematics to make it accessible to a reader familiar with basic college mathematics.

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Contents

Preface

List of contributors

Introduction

Olinde Rodrigues and his times

Towards a better understanding of Olinde Rodrigues and his circle: Family and faith in his life and career

Euphrasie and Olinde Rodrigues: The 'woman question' within Saint-Simonism

Rodrigues's early work in mathematics, 1813-1816

The 1839 paper on permutations: Its relation to the Rodrigues formula and further developments

Olinde Rodrigues and combinatorics

Olinde Rodrigues's paper of 1840 on a group of transformations

After Rodrigues: From rotations to quaternions

Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4704-3896-8