Jean Gaston Darboux facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jean-Gaston Darboux
Jean-Gaston Darboux
Born	(1842-08-14)14 August 1842 Nîmes, France
Died	23 February 1917(1917-02-23) (aged 74) Paris, France
Alma mater	Ecole Normale Supérieure (in Paris)
Awards	Sylvester Medal (1916) ForMemRS (1902) Poncelet Prize (1875)
Scientific career
Thesis	Sur les surfaces orthogonales (1866)
Doctoral advisor	Michel Chasles
Doctoral students	Émile Borel Élie Cartan Édouard Goursat Émile Picard Thomas Stieltjes Gheorghe Țițeica Stanisław Zaremba

Jean-Gaston Darboux (born August 14, 1842 – died February 23, 1917) was an important French mathematician. He was known for his work in geometry and mathematical analysis. He also taught many famous mathematicians.

Life and Education

Jean-Gaston Darboux was born in Nîmes, France, on August 14, 1842. His father was a businessman. Sadly, his father passed away when Gaston was only seven years old. His mother bravely took over the family business. She made sure that Gaston and his younger brother, Louis, received a good education. Louis later became a mathematics teacher.

Gaston studied at schools in Nîmes and Montpellier. In 1861, he was accepted into the École normale supérieure in Paris. This was a very difficult school to get into, and he was the top student that year. He earned his PhD in 1866. His main teacher was Michel Chasles. Gaston's PhD paper was about "orthogonal surfaces," which are surfaces that cross each other at right angles.

Darboux as a student of the Ecole Normale around 1865.

In 1870, Darboux helped start a math journal called Bulletin des sciences mathématiques et astronomiques. Other mathematicians often called it "Darboux's Journal." He was the president of its editorial board.

In 1872, Darboux married Amélie Célina Carbonnier. They had two children: a son named Jean-Gaston and a daughter named Anaïs Berthe Lucie. His son later became a marine zoologist.

Darboux also helped create the École normale supérieure de jeunes filles in 1880. This school was special because it trained women to become teachers.

Contributions and Recognition

In 1884, Darboux was chosen to be a member of the Académie des Sciences. This is a very respected group of scientists in France.

He made many important discoveries in geometry and mathematical analysis. He also wrote about the life of another famous mathematician, Henri Poincaré. Darboux also helped organize the collected works of Joseph Fourier.

Many students learned from Darboux. Some of them became very famous mathematicians themselves. These included Émile Borel, Élie Cartan, and Émile Picard.

In 1900, Darboux became the permanent secretary for the Mathematics section of the French Academy of Sciences. This was a very important position.

He was also recognized by other countries. In 1902, he became a member of the Royal Society in London. In 1916, he received the Sylvester Medal from the Royal Society. This award is given for important work in mathematics.

Things Named After Him

Many mathematical ideas and concepts are named after Jean-Gaston Darboux because of his important work. Here are a few examples:

His Work

Jean-Gaston Darboux wrote many important papers and books during his career.

Books

One of his most famous works is a four-volume collection of studies. It was published between 1887 and 1896. These books are called Leçons sur la théorie générale des surfaces et les applications géométriques du calcul infinitésimal. They cover the differential geometry of surfaces. This is a complex area of mathematics that studies the shapes and properties of curved surfaces.

• Vol. 1.
• Vol. 2.
• Vol. 3.
• Vol. 4.

He also wrote:

• 1873. Sur une classe remarquable de courbes et de surfaces algébriques et sur la théorie des imaginaires.
• 1898. Leçons sur les systèmes orthogonaux et les coordonnées curvilignes. Tome I.

See also

• Envelope theorem

In Spanish: Jean Gaston Darboux para niños