MacTutor
Mathematicians Of The Day
5th October
On this day in 1750, Maria Agnesi received a response from Pope Benedict XIV on the publication of her book, Instituzioni Analitiche. The pope sent her a gold medal, a wreath laid with precious stones and named her honorary professor at the University of Bologna.
Click on Ⓟ for a poster.
Born:
- 1732: Nevil Maskelyne Ⓟ
- 1781: Bernard Bolzano Ⓟ
- 1861: Thomas Heath Ⓟ
- 1898: Philip Franklin Ⓟ
- 1911: Pilar Ribeiro Ⓟ
- 1930: Reinhard Selten Ⓟ
- 1932: Hyman Bass Ⓟ
Died:
- 1565: Lodovico Ferrari
- 1761: Gabriele Manfredi Ⓟ
- 1777: Johann Segner Ⓟ
- 1909: Irving Stringham Ⓟ
- 1939: Alice Lee Ⓟ
- 1972: Solomon Lefschetz Ⓟ
- 1985: Harald Cramér Ⓟ
- 1985: Karl Menger Ⓟ
- 1986: Jim Wilkinson Ⓟ
- 2009: Israil Gelfand Ⓟ
Quotation of the day
From Israil Gelfand
If you ask a drunkard what number is larger, 2/3 or 3/5, he might not be able to tell you. But if you rephrase the question: What is better, 2 bottles of vodka for 3 people, or 3 bottles of vodka for 5 people, he will tell you right away.
