Ernst Ludwig Wilhelm Maximilian Curtze (4 August 1837 – 3 January 1903) was a German mathematician and

historian of mathematics The history of mathematics deals with the origin of discoveries in mathematics and the History of mathematical notation, mathematical methods and notation of the past. Before the modern age and the worldwide spread of knowledge, written examples ...

. He translated many classical mathematical texts.

Biography

Curtze was born in

Ballenstedt Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the vi ...

, in the Principality of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

, the fourth son of physician Eduard Curtze and Johanna Nicolai. After attending the Carolinum grammar school at

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeb ...

, he graduated from the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

in 1857 after training under Johann August Grunert. He then passed the examination for teachers in 1861 and taught at the

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...

(now Torn, Poland) Gymnasium until his retirement in 1896. A colleague was the Copernicus scholar Leopold Prove. His knowledge of languages and mathematics led him to examine works published in the Middle Ages. He translated the works of

Nicole Oresme Nicole Oresme (; ; 1 January 1325 – 11 July 1382), also known as Nicolas Oresme, Nicholas Oresme, or Nicolas d'Oresme, was a French philosopher of the later Middle Ages. He wrote influential works on economics, mathematics, physics, astrology, ...

- ''Algorismus proportionum'' (1868), Anartius' commentary on Euclid, Peter of Dacia's commentary on Sacrobosco's Algorisms (1897) and other materials which he collected into his 1902 publication ''Urkunden zur Geschichte der Mathematik im Mittelalter und der Renaissance''.

References

External links

Urkunden zur Geschichte der Mathematik im Mittelalter und der Renaissance
(1902) {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtze, Maximilian 1837 births 1903 deaths People from Ballenstedt People from Anhalt-Bernburg 19th-century German mathematicians Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Mathematicians from the German Empire