Leonhard Euler History
Leonhard Euler was born in Basel, Switzerland, the first of six children in a minister's family. (Wheeler, 1995) His father was a Calvinist preacher and worked with young Euler in the area of mathematics and even managed to have Leonhard study with the renown Johann Bernoulli. (Dunham, 1990) Like most preacher's kids, Euler has no desire to follow the steps of his father as a minister. His interest was with numbers. As an aside, some see a mathematical connection with the Bible. Jesus Christ, the central figure in Christianity told a mathematical problem in the form of a biblical story. He told of a shepherd who had one hundred sheep and lost one. The shepherd then counted ninety and nine. That's basic mathematics. However, in spite of his upbringing, Euler's attraction to mathematics was more powerful than the calling to ministry so he sought to develop his mathematical skills more so than his biblical knowledge. At age 13 he entered the University of Basel and received his Master's Degree at age 16. He even broadened his studies to include astronomy, medicine, languages, and physics. (Wheeler, 1995)
Click here to read more about Leonhard Euler:
Click here to read more about Leonhard Euler: