Joseph Liouville

French mathematician. His work was wide ranging, covering everything from differential geometry to astronomy, but he is particularly remembered for his discovery of transcendental numbers.

Liouville studied mathematics at the Collège St. Louis in Paris, and then in 1825, he entered Ecole Polytechnique where he studied with Ampère and Arago. He graduated in 1827 and embarked upon a career in academics. In 1831, he was appointed to several private schools and to the Ecole Centrale, where he lectured regularly, oftentimes speaking on subjects so complex that he left his students bewildered.

He founded the Journal de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées in 1836, and as editor, he published papers that are credited with raising the standards of French mathematics during the 19th century. In 1838, he was appointed Professor of Analysis and Mechanics at the Ecole Polytechnique, and one year later, he was elected to the astronomy section of the Académie des Sciences. He was elected to the Bureau des Longitudes in 1840. By this time, his reputation had spread worldwide, and he was busy with his research and writing as well as his teaching and administrative duties.

In the 1840s, he became involved in the political arena, and in 1848, he was elected to the Constituting Assembly. Running for office again the following year, he was defeated, and as a result of this defeat, his personality changed, leaving him bitter toward the world, even toward his old friends. He continued his work in mathematics with more vigor after his encounter with politics, and the years of 1856 and 1857 were exceptionally productive. He wrote over 400 papers throughout his lifetime, but much of his boldly original work was published without proof of how he obtained his results.

Although his health deteriorated during the 1850s, he was able to continue his work. Liouville died on 8 September 1882 in Paris.