Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann (April 12, 1852 - March 6, 1939) was a German mathematician, noted for his proof, published in 1882, that π is a transcendental number, i.e., it is not a zero of any polynomial with rational coefficients. April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... A mathematician is a person whose area of study and research is mathematics. ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... In mathematics, a transcendental number is any irrational number that is not an algebraic number, i. ... In mathematics, polynomial functions, or polynomials, are an important class of simple and smooth functions. ... In mathematics, a rational number (or informally fraction) is a ratio of two integers, usually written as the vulgar fraction a/b, where b is not zero. ...

Early life and education

Lindemann was born in Hanover, Germany. His father, Ferdinand Lindemann, taught modern languages at a Gymnasium in Hanover. His mother, Emilie Crusius, was the daughter of the Gymnasium's headmaster. The family later moved to Schwerin, where young Ferdinand attended school. Alternate meanings: Hanover (district), Hanover (region), Hanover (state), other uses Map of Germany showing Hanover Hanover (in German: Hannover [haˈnoːfɐ]), on the Leine river, is the capital of the state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) in Germany. ... A gymnasium is a type of school of secondary education in parts of Europe. ... Schwerin is a city in northern Germany. ...

He studied mathematics at Göttingen, Erlangen, and Munich. At Erlangen he received a doctorate, supervised by Felix Klein, on non-Euclidean geometry. Map of Germany showing Göttingen 1 External links Coat of Arms University of Göttingen Top: The old Auditorium Maximum (1862-65) Bottom: New library building Göttingen is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Erlangen is a German city in Middle Franconia. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München pronunciation) is the state capital of the German Bundesland of Bavaria. ... Felix Christian Klein (April 25, 1849 – June 22, 1925) was a German mathematician. ... The term non-Euclidean geometry (also spelled: non-Euclidian geometry) describes both hyperbolic and elliptic geometry, which are contrasted with Euclidean geometry. ...

Transcendentality proof

In 1882, he published the result for which he is best known, the transcendentality of π. His methods were similar to those used nine years earlier by Charles Hermite to show that e, the base of natural logarithms, is transcendental. Before the publication of Lindemann's proof, it was known that if π is transcendental, then the ancient and celebrated problem of squaring the circle by straightedge and compass could not be solved. 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Hermite (pronounced air meet) (December 24, 1822 - January 14, 1901) was a French mathematician who did research on number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Squaring the circle is the impossible task of using ruler-and-compass constructions to make a square with the same area as a given circle. ...

Other

While a professor at the University of Königsberg, Lindemann acted as supervisor for the doctoral thesis of David Hilbert. David Hilbert David Hilbert ( January 23, 1862 – February 14, 1943) was a German mathematician born in Wehlau, near Königsberg, Prussia (now Znamensk, near Kaliningrad, Russia) who is recognized as one of the most influential mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

See also Lindemann-Weierstrass theorem. In mathematics, the Lindemann-Weierstrass theorem states that if α1,...,αn are algebraic numbers which are linearly independent over the rational numbers, then are algebraically independent over the algebraic numbers; in other words the set has transcendency degree n over . ...