Pierre de Fermat

Pierre de Fermat was a french lawyer and mathematician. He did the primary developments of infinitesimal calculus. Pierre was a lawyer by profession, but historians give him the credit of a genius mathematician. He is also famous for the ‘Fermat’s Last Theorem’. He wrote it in the margin of the book ‘Diophantus Arithmetica’.

Fermat born on 17 August in 1601 in Beaumont de Lomagne, France. His father Dominique Fermat was a rich businessman and mother Claire de Long was a housewife. He also had one brother and two sisters. Pierre got his school education at College de Navarre in Montauban and completed his higher education in law from the University of Toulouse.

After that, in 1620 Fermat went to Bordeaux and started his research in many mathematical topics. He did many important mathematical works such as maxima and minima with the help of many famous mathematicians. Fermat then went to Orleans, studied and achieved a civil law degree in 1631. He became ‘councillor’ at the high court of Judicature in Toulouse.

He continued his mathematical research along with his job of Councillor. At first, his fellow mathematicians often called him amateur mathematician for his letters which contained theorems without proofs. Yet many famous mathematicians of that era like Des Cartes praised him. Fermat also invented a proof of a problem of geometry using the analytical method. He also found a way to calculate the length of curves. After that, he published his maxima and minima theorem in 1638 which scientists used to find the center of gravity.

Fermat also contributed in optics. He showed the fact that in dense medium light passes more slowly. His works also influenced mathematicians to form the calculus of variations. As a matter of fact, today’s historians of science say that his works on the theory of probability are incomparable with any other. Many of his proven theorems had lost.

Pierre de Fermat died on 12 January 1665 in Tarn. He was one of the most prominent mathematicians of the 17th century. It is a matter of sorrow that many parts of his personal life are still unknown.