Pierre de Fermat Born: 17 Aug 1601 in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, France Died: 12 Jan 1665 in Castres, France

Childhood and Family Father was a wealthy leather merchant and a mayor. Mother was from a wealthy background Had one brother and two sisters. Born and raised in Beaumont-de-Lomagne Received childhood education at the local monastary. Eventually Married and had five children.

Education and Profession Attended the University of Toulouse Researched mathematics in Bordeaux Studied law in Orleans Worked as a judge in the house of parliament in Toulouse. Ultimately became a judge in the highest level of the criminal court. Condemned priests to be burnt at the stake.

“Prince of Amateurs” Mathematics was his pass-time. Many mathematicians disliked him for his teasing. The mischievous mathematician would often develop a new theorem, construct a proof, and then issue a challenge to other mathematicians to prove his theorems. Fermat's game playing often made him a nuisance to other mathematicians who did not appreciate his methods. It was common for Fermat to announce a proof of some idea and not show the proof to anyone, perhaps receiving some sort of glee from the ability to stump other geniuses. (Simon Singh)

Method of Research Enjoyed studying the behavior of numbers, especially integers Enjoyed reading the works of others and making notes on loose paper and in the margins of books Wrote several notes such as “I can prove such and such but I have to feed the cat', or 'I can solve a particular equation but I have to wash my hair”

Motivation Enjoyed the pleasure of discovery. Published only one important paper and used the alias “M.P.E.A.S.” When someone offered to publish his papers he replied: “Whatever of my works is worthy of publication, I do not want my name to appear there.

Contribution Founded the theory of probability with Pascal. Discovered analytical geometry independent of Descartes Founded the Modern Theory of Numbers Was the precursor of Differential Calculus Developed the “Least Time Principal” Newton said “Monsieur Fermat’s method of drawing tangents” sparked his idea of calculus.

Baffled Mathematicians Produced many theorems without stating the proofs behind them. For example: He proposed that every positive integer is a sum of at most 3 Triangular Numbers, 4 Square Numbers, 5 Pentagonal Numbers, and n N- gonal Numbers. He claimed to have a proof of this result but it has never been found. Gauss proved the triangular case in Euler proved an identity, which was subsequently used by Lagrange to prove the square case in Finally, in 1813, Cauchy proved the general case.

Conclusion Pierre de Fermat was born to a wealthy family in France and received an excellent education. He studied mathematics as a hobby outside of his law practice. He developed revolutionary theories laying the foundation for modern mathematics.

Bibliography

Pierre De Fermat