Wilhelm Jordan ( 1 March 1842, Ellwangen,

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

–

17 April Events Pre-1600 *1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. * 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Has ...

1899,

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

geodesist Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equival ...

who conducted surveys in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

founded Founding may refer to: * The formation of a corporation, government, or other organization * The laying of a building's Foundation * The casting of materials in a mold See also * Foundation (disambiguation) * Incorporation (disambiguation) In ...

the

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equival ...

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

Biography

Jordan was born in Ellwangen, a small town in southern Germany. He studied at the polytechnic institute in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

and after working for two years as an engineering assistant on the preliminary stages of railway construction he returned there as an assistant in geodesy. In 1868, when he was 26 years old, he was appointed a full professor at Karlsruhe. In 1874 Jordan took part in the expedition of Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs to Libya. From 1881 until his death he was professor of geodesy and practical geometry at the

Technical University of Hannover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...

. He was a prolific writer and his best known work was his ''Handbuch der Vermessungskunde'' (''Handbook of Geodesy''). He is remembered among

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

s for the Gauss–Jordan elimination algorithm, with Jordan improving the stability of the algorithm so it could be applied to minimizing the squared error in the sum of a series of

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...

observations. This

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...

ic technique appeared in the third edition (1888) of his ''Textbook of Geodesy''. Wilhelm Jordan is not to be confused with the French mathematician Camille Jordan (

Jordan curve theorem In topology, the Jordan curve theorem asserts that every '' Jordan curve'' (a plane simple closed curve) divides the plane into an " interior" region bounded by the curve and an " exterior" region containing all of the nearby and far away exteri ...

), nor with the German physicist

Pascual Jordan Ernst Pascual Jordan (; 18 October 1902 – 31 July 1980) was a German theoretical and mathematical physicist who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. He contributed much to the mathematical form of matri ...

( Jordan algebras).

Gauss–Jordan elimination

Evidence suggests that B.-I. Clasen also developed the Gauss–Jordan elimination method (independently from Jordan), and both published the method in 1888.

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

did not directly contribute to either derivation.

Notes

External links

English translation of ''Handbuch der Vermessungskunde'', 8th edition, Vol. 1

English translation of ''Handbuch der Vermessungskunde'', 8th edition, Vol. 3, 1st half

English translation of ''Handbuch der Vermessungskunde'', 8th edition, Vol. 3, 2nd half
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Wilhelm 1842 births 1899 deaths People from Ellwangen German geodesists 19th-century German mathematicians Linear algebraists