History on Paul Euler

On April 15, 1707, in Basel, Switzerland, Paul Euler and Margaret Brucker gave birth to a son and named him Leonhard. When Leonhard was one year old he and his family moved to Riehen. It was in Riehen where Leonhard was brought up. Leonhard's father had some mathematical training from the University of Basel where he had studied theology. Paul was able to teach Leonhard elementary math and other subjects. Leonhard was later sent to live with his grandma on his mother's side in Basel. There he went to a school that was poor and Leonhard learned no math at all. Leonhard's interest in math grew because of his father's earlier teachings. Leonhard read math texts on his own and took private lessons. Paul wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a minister, so Paul sent Leonhard to the University of Basel to prepare for the ministry. He entered the University of Basel in 1720, when he was 14 years old.

In 1723 he completed his Master's degree in philosophy. He began studying theology in 1723, doing what his dad wanted him to do, but he could not find interest in studying theology. He finished his studies at the University of Basel in 1726. Leonhard had studied many math works during his time at the university. In 1726, Leonhard had written a short article on isochronous curves. In 1727, he published another article on reciprocal trajectories and submitted an entry for the 1727, grand prize. Leonhard came in second. He had to find himself an academic appointment; he was offered a job which would involve him teaching applications and mechanics to physiology in St. Petersburg. He accepted it, but in November 1726, he said that he didn't want to travel to Russia until the next year. He did not want to go for two reasons, they were that he wanted time to study the topics that he was going to teach and he also had a chance of a job at the University of Basel because the physics professor there had died.

Leonhard left Basel on April 5, 1727, he went down the Rhine by boat, crossed the German states by post wagon, then by boat to St. Petersburg on May 17, 1727. He joined the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Leonhard was appointed to the mathematical-physical division of the academy rather then the physiology post he was offered in the beginning.

Leonhard served as a medical lieutenant in the Russian navy from 1727 to 1730. He became a professor of physics at the academy in 1730, and was able to give up his Russian navy post. Leonhard was appointed to senior chair of mathematics. He improved financially which allowed him to marry Katharina Gsell. Leonhard and Katharina had thirteen children, but out of those thirteen children only five survived. Leonhard said that some of his greatest mathematical discoveries happened while he was holding a baby in his arms or while children where playing around his feet.

Leonhard's book Mechanica, which presented Newtonian dynamics in the form of math analysis for the first time, and the publication of many of his articles started him on the way to major mathematical work.

He began to have health problems in 1735, when he had a severe fever that almost killed him. Leonhard said that his eyesight problems began in 1738, with overstrain due to his cartographic work and that by 1740, he had lost an eye and that the same thing could happen to his other eye.

During the twenty-five years he spent in Berlin, Leonhard wrote about 308 articles. He wrote a lot of books on the calculations of variations; on the calculation of planetary orbits; on artillery and ballistics; on analysis; on ship building and navigation; on the motion of the moon; lectures on the differential calculus; and a popular scientific publication Letters to a Princess of Germany.

In 1766, he returned to St. Petersburg. Soon after he returned to Russia, Leonhard almost became completely blind after an illness. In 1771, his house was destroyed by fire and he was only able to save himself and his math manuscripts. After the fire, Leonhard had a cataract operation which restored his sight for