Jules Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) - French mathematician, mechanic, physicist, astronomer and philosopher. The head of the Paris Academy of Sciences, a member of the French Academy and more than 30 other academies of the world. He is one of the greatest mathematicians in human history.
It is generally accepted that Poincaré, along with Hilbert, was the last universal mathematician - a scientist capable of covering all the mathematical areas of his time.
There are a lot of interesting facts in the biography of Poincaré, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Henri Poincaré.
Biography of Poincaré
Henri Poincaré was born on April 29, 1854 in the French city of Nancy. He grew up and was brought up in the family of the professor of medicine Léon Poincaré and his wife Eugenie Lanois. He had a younger sister, Alina.
Childhood and youth
From an early age, Henri Poincaré was distinguished by his scattering, which remained with him until the end of his life. As a child, he was ill with diphtheria, which for some time paralyzed the boy's legs and palate.
For several months, Poincaré was unable to talk and move. An interesting fact is that during this period of time he has sharpened his auditory perception and a unique ability arose - the color perception of sounds.
Thanks to excellent home preparation, 8-year-old Anri was able to enter the Lyceum immediately for the 2nd year. He received high marks in all disciplines and gained a reputation as an erudite student.
Later Poincaré transferred to the Faculty of Literature, where he mastered Latin, German and English. When he was 17 years old, he became a bachelor of arts. Then he wanted to get a bachelor's degree in (natural) sciences, passing the exam with a mark "satisfactory".
This was due to the fact that in the mathematics exam, Henri, due to his absent-mindedness, decided the wrong ticket.
In the fall of 1873, the young man entered the Polytechnic School. Soon he published his first scientific article on differential geometry. After that, Poincaré continued his education at the Mining School, a prestigious higher educational institution. Here he managed to defend his doctoral dissertation.
Scientific activity
After receiving his degree, Henri began teaching at one of the Cannes universities. During that period of his biography, he presented a number of serious works devoted to automorphic functions.
Studying automorphic functions the guy discovered their relationship with Lobachevsky's geometry. As a result, the solutions he proposed made it possible to calculate any linear differential equations with algebraic coefficients.
Poincaré's ideas immediately attracted the attention of authoritative European mathematicians. In 1881 the young scientist was invited to teach at the University of Paris. In those years of his life, he became the creator of a new branch of mathematics - the qualitative theory of differential equations.
In the period 1885-1895. Henri Poincaré set out to solve some very complex problems in astronomy and mathematical physics. In the mid-1880s, he took part in a mathematical competition, choosing the most difficult topic. He had to calculate the motion of the gravitating bodies of the solar system.
Poincaré presented effective methods for solving the problem, as a result of which he was awarded the prize. One of the members of the judging panel said that after Henri's work, a new era in the history of celestial mechanics would begin in the world.
When the man was about 32 years old, he was entrusted with heading the department of mathematical physics and probability theory at the University of Paris. Here Poincaré continued to write new scientific works, making a lot of important discoveries.
This led to the fact that Henri was elected President of the French Mathematical Society and a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. In 1889, a 12-volume work "Course of Mathematical Physics" was published by the scientist.
Following this, Poincare published the monograph "New Methods of Celestial Mechanics". His works in this area are the largest achievements in celestial mechanics since Newton's time.
During that period of his biography, Henri Poincaré was fond of astronomy, and also created a new branch of mathematics - topology. He is the author of the most important astronomical works. He managed to substantiate the existence of equilibrium figures other than an ellipsoid (he investigated their stability).
For this discovery in 1900, the Frenchman was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. Henri Poincaré has published a number of serious articles on topology. As a result, he developed and presented his famous hypothesis, named after him.
Poincaré's name is directly related to the success of the theory of relativity. An interesting fact is that back in 1898, long before Einstein, Poincaré formulated the general principle of relativity. He was the first to suggest that the simultaneity of phenomena is not absolute, but only conditional.
In addition, Henri put forward a version of the speed limit of light. However, unlike Poincaré, Einstein completely rejected the very concept of ether, while the Frenchman continued to use it.
Another significant difference between the positions of Poincaré and Einstein was that a number of relativistic conclusions, Henri considered as absolute effects, and Einstein - as relative. Obviously, a shallow analysis of the special theory of relativity (SRT) in Poincaré's articles led to the fact that his colleagues did not pay due attention to his ideas.
In turn, Albert Einstein scrupulously analyzed the foundations of this physical picture and presented it to the world community in maximum detail. In subsequent years, when discussing SRT, the name of Poincaré was not mentioned anywhere.
The two great mathematicians met only once - in 1911 at the First Solvay Congress. Despite his rejection of the theory of relativity, Henri personally treated Einstein with respect.
According to Poincaré's biographers, a superficial look at the picture prevented him from becoming the legitimate author of the theory of relativity. If he carried out a deep analysis, including the measurement of length and time, then this theory would be named after him. However, he, as they say, failed to "put the squeeze" on to the final point.
Over the years of his scientific biography, Henri Poincaré presented fundamental works in almost all areas of mathematics, physics, mechanics, philosophy and other fields. An interesting fact is that when trying to solve a particular problem, he initially completely solved it in his mind and only then wrote down the solution on paper.
Poincaré had a phenomenal memory, thanks to which he could easily retell the articles and even books he read word for word. He never worked on one task for a long time.
The man stated that the subconscious has already received the back and will be able to work on it even when the brain is busy with other things. Dozens of theories and hypotheses are named after Poincaré, which speaks of his extraordinary productivity.
Personal life
The mathematician met his future wife Louise Poulin d'Andesy during his student years. The young people got married in the spring of 1881. In this marriage, 3 girls and one boy were born.
Poincaré's contemporaries spoke of him as a noble, witty, modest and indifferent to fame man. Some had the impression that he was withdrawn, but this was not entirely true. His lack of communication was due to excessive shyness and constant concentration.
Nevertheless, during scientific discussions, Henri Poincaré remained always firm in his convictions. He did not participate in scandals and did not insult anyone. The man never smoked, loved walking on the street and was indifferent to religion.
Death
In 1908, the mathematician fell seriously ill, as a result of which he had to undergo an operation. After 4 years, his health deteriorated sharply. Henri Poincaré died after surgery from an embolism on July 17, 1912 at the age of 58.
Poincaré Photos
