Germinal Pierre Dandelin (; , 12 April 1794 – 15 February 1847) 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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
,
soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer.
Etymology
The wo ...
, and
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
.
Life
He was born near
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to a
French father and
Belgian mother, studying first at
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
then returning to Paris to study at the
École Polytechnique. He was wounded fighting under
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. He worked for the Ministry of the Interior under
Lazare Carnot. Later he became a citizen of the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, a professor of
mining engineering in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and then a member of the Belgian army.
Work
He is the eponym of the
Dandelin spheres, of Dandelin's theorem in
geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
(for an account of that theorem, see
Dandelin spheres), and of the
Dandelin–Gräffe numerical method of solution of algebraic equations. He also published on the
stereographic projection,
algebra
Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...
, and
probability theory
Probability theory or probability calculus is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expre ...
.
References
* Biography in ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' (New York 1970–1990).
*
Florian Cajori, ''The Dandelin–Gräffe method'', in ''A history of Mathematics'' (New York, 1938), 364.
* A. S. Householder, Dandelin, Lobachevskii, or Gräffe?, ''
American Mathematical Monthly
''The American Mathematical Monthly'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of mathematics. It was established by Benjamin Finkel in 1894 and is published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Mathematical Association of America. It is an exposi ...
'' 66 (1959), 464–466.
* A. Quetelet, G P Dandelin, ''Biographie nationale XIV'' (Brussels,1873), 663–668.
* C. Runge, ''The Dandelin–Gräffe method'', in ''Praxis der Gleichungen'' (Berlin-Leipzig, 1921), 136–158.
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dandelin, Germinal Pierre
1794 births
1847 deaths
19th-century French mathematicians
19th-century Belgian mathematicians
Belgian mining engineers
19th-century Dutch mathematicians
Dutch mining engineers
People from Seine-Saint-Denis
19th-century Dutch engineers
19th-century Belgian engineers