Johann Gustav Hermes (20 June 1846 – 8 June 1912) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

. Hermes is known for constructing a polygon with 65,537 sides.

Early life

On 20 June 1846, Hermes was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, a former German city (presently

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

, Russia). Hermes was educated at the Kneiphöfischen Gymnasium. He undertook his ''Abitur'' (final examination) at the school in 1866. After completing his secondary education, he studied

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

from 1866 to 1870, mostly in

. His studies were interrupted due to his participation in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

between 1870 and 1871.

Education

On 14 December 1872, Hermes completed his studies and earned a degree in mathematics. On 5 April 1879, Hermes received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degree and his dissertation was on the "Reduction of the problem of

cyclotomy In mathematics, a root of unity is any complex number that yields 1 when raised to some positive integer power . Roots of unity are used in many branches of mathematics, and are especially important in number theory, the theory of group char ...

on linear equations (for

prime number A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a Product (mathematics), product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime ...

s of the form 2^''m''+1)" (German: "''Zurückführung des Problems der Kreistheilung auf lineare Gleichungen (für Primzahlen von der Form'' 2^''m''+1'')''").

Career

After a probationary year at the

Chernyakhovsk Chernyakhovsk (; German: Insterburg) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrapa rivers, which unite to become the Pregolya river bel ...

Realgymnasium in 1873, Hermes worked as a teacher at the Progymnasium of the Royal Orphanage of Königsberg in Prussia (German: ''Königliches Waisenhaus zu Königsberg in Preußen''). Beginning in 1883 he was an ''Oberlehrer'' (or upper teacher). In 1893 he became a professor at the Georgianum Gymnasium in Lingen. Finally, on 1 April 1899, he became a professor and director at the

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Realgymnasium (now named the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium). On 31 December 1906 he asked for an early retirement from his position due to illness.

Achievements

In 1894, Hermes completed his decade-long effort to find and write down a procedure for the

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

of the regular

65537-gon In geometry, a 65537-gon is a polygon with 65,537 (216 + 1) sides. The sum of the interior angles of any non– self-intersecting is 11796300°. Regular 65537-gon The area of a ''regular '' is (with ) :A = \frac t^2 \cot \frac A whole regula ...

exclusively with a compass and a straightedge. His manuscript, with over 200 pages, is today located at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

. In his maiden speech as the director at the Osnabrück Realgymnasium on 11 April 1899, he praised the concept of duty of the influential

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

, who was also a resident of Königsberg. He finished with the words "''Geduld ist die Pforte der Freude.''" ("Patience is the gate to joy.")

Personal life

In December 1906, Hermes became ill. On 8 June 1912, Hermes died. Hermes is buried in Osnabrück, Germany.

References

External links

* ''(About the division of the circle into 65537 equal pieces)''
Other publications by Hermes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes, Johann Gustav 1846 births 1912 deaths Scientists from Königsberg People from the Province of Prussia 19th-century German mathematicians 20th-century German mathematicians Prussian Army personnel German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War