Bernoullis biography
Daniel Bernoulli
Swiss mathematician and physicist (1700–1782)
Daniel BernoulliFRS (bur-NOO-lee; Swiss Standard German:[ˈdaːni̯eːlbɛrˈnʊli]; 8 February [O.S. 29 January] 1700 – 27 March 1782) was a Swiss-Frenchmathematician and physicist and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family from Basel. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics. His name is commemorated in the Bernoulli's principle, a particular example of the conservation of energy, which describes the mathematics of the mechanism underlying the operation of two important technologies of the 20th century: the carburetor and the aeroplane wing.
Early life
Daniel Bernoulli was born in Groningen, in the Netherlands, into a family of distinguished mathematicians. The Bernoulli family came originally from Antwerp, at that time in the Spanish Netherlands, but emigrated to escape the Spanish persecution of the Protestants. After a brief period in Frankfurt the family moved to Basel, in Switzerland.
Daniel was the son of Johann Bernoulli (one of the early developers of calculus) and a nephew of Jacob Bernoulli (an early researcher in probability theory and the discoverer of the mathematical constant e). He had two brothers, Niklaus and Johann II. Daniel Bernoulli was described by W. W. Rouse Ball as "by far the ablest of the younger Bernoullis".
He is said to have had a bad relationship with his father. Both of them entered and tied for first place in a scientific contest at the University of Paris. Johann banned Daniel from his house, allegedly being unable to bear the "shame" of Daniel being considered his equal. Johann allegedly plagiarized key ideas from Daniel's book Hydrodynamica in his book Hydrau Swiss mathematician (1655–1705) For other family members named Jacob, see Bernoulli family. Jacob Bernoulli (also known as James in English or Jacques in French; 6 January 1655 [O.S. 27 December 1654] – 16 August 1705) was a Swiss mathematician. He sided with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz during the Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy and was an early proponent of Leibnizian calculus, which he made numerous contributions to. A member of the Bernoulli family, he, along with his brother Johann, was one of the founders of the calculus of variations. He also discovered the fundamental mathematical constant e. However, his most important contribution was in the field of probability, where he derived the first version of the law of large numbers in his work Ars Conjectandi. Jacob Bernoulli was born in Basel in the Old Swiss Confederacy. Following his father's wish, he studied theology and entered the ministry. But contrary to the desires of his parents, he also studied mathematics and astronomy. He traveled throughout Europe from 1676 to 1682, learning about the latest discoveries in mathematics and the sciences under leading figures of the time. This included the work of Johannes Hudde, Robert Boyle, and Robert Hooke. During this time he also produced an incorrect theory of comets. Bernoulli returned to Switzerland, and began teaching mechanics at the University of Basel from 1683. His doctoral dissertation Solutionem tergemini problematis was submitted in 1684. It appeared in print in 1687. In 1684, Bernoulli married Judith Stupanus; they had two children. During this decade, he also began a fertile research career. His travels allowed him to establish correspondence with many leading mathematicians and scientists of his era, which he maintained throughout his life. During this time, he studied the new discoveries in mathematics, including Christ
Jacob (Jacques) Bernoulli
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Basel, Switzerland
Basel, Switzerland Biography
Jacob Bernoulli's father, Nicolaus Bernoulli (1623-1708) inherited the spice business in Basel that had been set up by his own father, first in Amsterdam and then in Basel. The family, of Belgium origin, were refugees fleeing from persecution by the Spanish rulers of the Netherlands. Philip, the King of Spain, had sent the Duke of Alba to the Netherlands in 1567 with a large army to punish those opposed to Spanish rule, to enforce adherence to Roman Catholicism, and to re-establish Philip's authority. Alba set up the Council of Troubles which was a court that condemned over 12000 people but most, like the Bernoulli family who were of the Protestant faith, fled the country.
Nicolaus Bernoulli was an important citizen of Basel, being a member of the town council and a magistrate. Jacob Bernoulli's mother also came from an important Basel family of bankers and local councillors. Jacob Bernoulli was the brother of Johann Bernoulli and the uncle of Daniel Bernoulli. He was compelled to study philosophy and theology by his parents, which he greatly resented, and he graduated from the University of Basel with a master's degree in philosophy in 1671 and a licentiate in theology in 1676.
During the time that Jacob Bernoulli was taking his university degrees he was studying mathematics and astronomy against the wishes of his parents. It is worth remarking that this was a typical pattern for many of the Bernoulli family who made a study of mathematics despite pressure to make a career in other areas. However Jacob Bernoulli was the first to go down this road so for him it was rather different in that Quick Info
Groningen, Netherlands
Basel, Switzerland Biography
Daniel Bernoulli was the son of Johann Bernoulli. He was born in Groningen while his father held the chair of mathematics there. His older brother was Nicolaus (II) Bernoulli and his uncle was Jacob Bernoulli so he was born into a family of leading mathematicians but also into a family where there was unfortunate rivalry, jealousy and bitterness.
You can see the Bernoulli family tree at THIS LINK.
When Daniel was five years old the family returned to their native city of Basel where Daniel's father filled the chair of mathematics left vacant on the death of his uncle Jacob Bernoulli. When Daniel was five years old his younger brother Johann (II) Bernoulli was born. All three sons would go on to study mathematics but this was not the course that Johann Bernoulli planned for Daniel.
Johann Bernoulli's father had tried to force Johann into a business career and he had resisted strongly. Rather strangely Johann Bernoulli now tried exactly the same with his own son Daniel. First however Daniel was sent to Basel University at the age of 13 to study philosophy and logic. He obtained his baccalaureate examinations in 1715 and went on to obtain his master's degree in 1716. Daniel, like his father, really wanted to study mathematics and during the time he studied philosophy at Basel, he was learning the methods of the calculus from his father and his older brother Nicolaus (II) Bernoulli.
Johann was determined that Daniel should become a merchant and he tried to place him in an apprenticeship. However Daniel was as strongly opposed to this as his own father had been and soon Johann relented but certainly not as far as Jacob Bernoulli
Biography