A German mathematician (1815 to 1897) often called the father of modern analysis. He rebuilt real and complex analysis on a rigorous logical foundation, formalizing continuity and limits, and in 1872 startled the Berlin Academy by exhibiting a continuous function with no derivative at any point, work now known as the Weierstrass function.
Facts
BirthplaceEnnigerloh, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia (present-day Germany) 1 Death PlaceBerlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (present-day Germany) 1 Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionRebuilt real and complex analysis on a rigorous epsilon-delta foundation, and in 1872 constructed the first published example of a continuous function that is nowhere differentiable, now called the Weierstrass function. 2 Notable WorkThe Weierstrass function (presented to the Berlin Academy, 1872), a continuous function with no derivative at any point. 2 AwardHonorary doctorate, University of Konigsberg (1854); Fellow of the Royal Society (1881); Copley Medal, Royal Society (1895) 2 Connections
Associated With
Weierstrass was Cantor's teacher in Berlin; the atlas has no dedicated advisor and student relation, so this is recorded as a general association.
Source Karl Weierstrass, Biography (MacTutor History of Mathematics)
Attributed Works
Source Limit of a Function (Wikipedia)
Source Weierstrass Elliptic Function (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Weierstrass function
In Branch
Source Karl Weierstrass, Biography (MacTutor History of Mathematics)
Source Karl Weierstrass, Biography (MacTutor History of Mathematics)
Mentored
Source Ferdinand Georg Frobenius (Wikipedia)
Source Hermann Schwarz (Wikipedia)
Proofs Credited
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Karl WeierstrassLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (; German: Weierstraß [ˈvaɪɐʃtʁaːs]; 31 October 1815 – 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the "father of modern analysis".
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Karl Weierstrass
Wikimedia FoundationInfobox: death_place
Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Lead section
Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (; German: Weierstraß [ˈvaɪɐʃtʁaːs]; 31 October 1815 - 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the "father of modern analysis".
Calculus of variations
Weierstrass also made advances in the field of calculus of variations.
Infobox: birth_place
Ennigerloh, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia
Lead section, gender reference
Despite leaving university without a degree, he studied mathematics and trained as a school teacher, eventually teaching mathematics, physics, botany and gymnastics.
View the Source 2. Karl Weierstrass, Biography (MacTutor History of Mathematics)
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St AndrewsOpening summary
Karl Weierstrass is best known for his construction of the theory of complex functions by means of power series.
Honours section
The University of Konigsberg conferred an honorary doctor's degree on him on 31 March 1854.
Berlin period
In 1872 his emphasis on rigour led him to discover a function that, although continuous, had no derivative at any point.
Associated With: Georg Cantor, Students section
In 1870 Sofia Kovalevskaya came to Berlin and Weierstrass taught her privately since she was not allowed admission to the university.
View the Source Hermann Schwarz (Wikipedia)
Mentored: Hermann Schwarz, Infobox, doctoral advisor or academic advisorsView the Source Ferdinand Georg Frobenius (Wikipedia)
Mentored: Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, Infobox, doctoral advisor or academic advisorsView the Source Wikipedia: Weierstrass function
Attributed Works: Weierstrass Function, LeadQuote, Attributed Works: Weierstrass Function, Lead
In mathematics, the Weierstrass function, named after its discoverer, Karl Weierstrass, is an example of a real-valued function that is continuous everywhere but differentiable nowhere.
Weierstrass Elliptic Function (Wikipedia)
Attributed Works: Weierstrass Elliptic Function, Lead sectionQuote, Attributed Works: Weierstrass Elliptic Function, Lead section
They are named for Karl Weierstrass.
Limit of a Function (Wikipedia)
Attributed Works: Limit of a function, HistoryQuote, Attributed Works: Limit of a function, History
In 1861, Karl Weierstrass first introduced the epsilon-delta definition of limit in the form it is usually written today.
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