Jules Tannery (24 March 1848 – 11 December 1910) was a French

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 ...

, who notably studied under

Charles Hermite Charles Hermite () FRS FRSE MIAS (24 December 1822 – 14 January 1901) was a French mathematician who did research concerning number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra. ...

and was the PhD advisor of

Jacques Hadamard Jacques Salomon Hadamard (; 8 December 1865 – 17 October 1963) was a French mathematician who made major contributions in number theory, complex analysis, differential geometry and partial differential equations. Biography The son of a teac ...

. Tannery's theorem on interchange of limits and series is named after him. He was a brother of the mathematician and historian of science Paul Tannery. Under Hermite, he received a doctorate in 1874 for his thesis ''Propriétés des intégrales des équations différentielles linéaires à coefficients variables.'' Tannery was an advocate for

mathematics education In contemporary education, mathematics education, known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics – is the practice of teaching, learning and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge. Although re ...

, particular as a means to train children in logical consequence through

synthetic geometry Synthetic geometry (sometimes referred to as axiomatic geometry or even pure geometry) is the study of geometry without the use of coordinates or formulae. It relies on the axiomatic method and the tools directly related to them, that is, compass ...

and

mathematical proof A mathematical proof is an inferential argument for a mathematical statement, showing that the stated assumptions logically guarantee the conclusion. The argument may use other previously established statements, such as theorems; but every pr ...

s. Tannery discovered a surface of the fourth order of which all the

geodesic In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a connecti ...

lines are algebraic. He was not an inventor, however, but essentially a critic and methodologist. He once remarked, "Mathematicians are so used to their symbols and have so much fun playing with them, that it is sometimes necessary to take their toys away from them in order to oblige them to think." He notably influenced

Pierre Duhem Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem (; 9 June 1861 – 14 September 1916) was a French theoretical physicist who worked on thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, and the theory of elasticity. Duhem was also a historian of science, noted for his work on the Eu ...

Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...

Jules Drach Jules Joseph Drach (13 March 1871, in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines near Colmar – 8 March 1949, in Cavalaire-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) was a French mathematician. Biography Drach came from an Alsatian family of peasants. Because of the ...

, and

Émile Borel Félix Édouard Justin Émile Borel (; 7 January 1871 – 3 February 1956) was a French mathematician and politician. As a mathematician, he was known for his founding work in the areas of measure theory and probability. Biography Borel was ...

to take up science. His efforts were mainly directed to the study of the mathematical foundations and of the philosophical ideas implied in mathematical thinking. Tannery was "an original thinker, a successful teacher, and a writer endowed with an unusually clear, brilliant and attractive style." G. B. Mathews (1910
Jules Tannery

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

85:175 (#2145)

Works

* 1894
Leçons sur l'Arithmétique théorique et pratique
Armand Colin & Cie, via Internet Archive * ''Rôle du nombre dans les sciences'' * 1893: J. Tannery and J. Mol
Eléments de la théorie des fonctions elliptiques. Tome I, Introduction. Calcul différentiel. Ire partie
(Paris : Gauthier-Villars et fils) * 1893: J. Tannery and J. Molk
Eléments de la théorie des fonctions elliptiques. Tome II, Calcul différentiel. IIe partie
(Paris : Gauthier-Villars et fils) * 1893: J. Tannery and J. Molk
Eléments de la théorie des fonctions elliptiques. Tome III, Calcul intégral. Ire partie, Théorèmes généraux. Inversion
(Paris : Gauthier-Villars et fils) * 1893: J. Tannery and J. Molk
Eléments de la théorie des fonctions elliptiques. Tome IV, Calcul intégral. IIe partie, Applications
(Paris : Gauthier-Villars et fils) * 1901
Notice sur les travaux scientifique de M. Jules Tannery
Gauthier-Villars via Internet Archive * 1904
Introduction à la théorie des fonctions d'une variable, volume 1
Librairie Scientifique A. Hermann * 1910
Introduction á la théorie des fonctions d'une variable, volume 2
Librairie Scientifique A. Hermann * 1906
Leçons d'algèbra et d'analyse, volume 1
via Internet Archive * 1906
Leçons d'algèbra et d'analyse, volume 2
via Internet Archive * 1910
Correspondence entre Lejeun Dirichlet et Liouville
via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* 1924
Science et Philosophie
with Introduction by Emile Borel, Librairie Felix Alcan via Internet Archive

References

George Sarton George Alfred Leon Sarton (; 31 August 1884 – 22 March 1956) was a Belgian-born American chemist and historian. He is considered the founder of the discipline of the history of science as an independent field of study. His most influential work ...

(1947) "Paul, Jules, and Marie Tannery (with a note on Grégoire Wyrouboff)",

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

38 (1/2): 33–51.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tannery, Jules 19th-century French mathematicians Members of the French Academy of Sciences University of Paris faculty 1848 births 1910 deaths