Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Although Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz had no formal training as a mathematician, his contributions to the field of mathematics are still evident today. His results and work laid the groundwork for more thorough and rigorous treatments of calculus that would come later from various mathematicians. One of his most enduring legacies is the notations he used for calculus, which are still used around the world. Outside of mathematics Gottfried Leibniz made contributions to the fields of philosophy, law, and politics.

Gottfried Leibniz was born to Friedrich Leibniz and Catharina Schmuck on July 1st, 1646 in Leipzig, Saxony (Germany) (Ross, 2000). His father, Friedrich, was a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Leipzig. Gottfried's mother, was the daughter of a lawyer and Friedrich Leibniz's third wife (Ross, 2000). Gottfried's family also included his half-brother Johann Friedrich, half-sister Anna Rosina, and sister Anna Catherine (Ross, 2000). There is no indication that any Gottfried's immediate family has any interest in mathematics. Gottfried's father was the largest influence his in life, even though his father died when Gottfried was only six years old. After his father's death, Gottfried was given access to his father's substantial library where he studied many higher level works on philosophy, theology, and law including works by Plato and Aristotle (EGS, 2010).

About a year after his father's death, at the age of seven, Gottfried was enrolled in the Nicolai School in Leipzig (EGS, 2010). At the Nicolai School Gottfried studied Latin and other standard curriculum for boys in the school. In 1661 he entered the University of Leipzig at the age of fourteen where he studied primarily philosophy, mathematics, rhetori...

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...16 at the age of 70 in Hanover (Ross, 2000). Tragically the science community didn't see fit to memorialize his historic life and Gottfried's grave went unmarked for more than fifty years (Rational, 2010). After his death much of his work was published under the name Freiherr G. W. von Leibniz even though no record of nobility exists (Aiton, 1985). Some believe that his recognition in the field of mathematics was lacking during his life because his ideas, works, and concepts were so far ahead of his time. His work on self-similarity and the principle of continuity is an example of this, Leibniz anticipated what would later become topology by more than two centuries (Rational, 2010). Ahead of his time or not, Gottfried Leibniz's contributions to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, and logic will live on and be taught throughout the world for a long time to come.