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On This Day

  • 5-16-1718

    Maria Gaetana Agnesi born in Milan, Italy. Her Instituzioni analitiche of 1748 was an important calculus text. She is most often associated with the cubic curve known as the Witch of Agnesi, which got its name by a mistranslation. Her sister Maria Teresa was a noted composer.

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    Maria Gaetana Agnesi
    Witch of Agnesi

  • 5-16-1821

    Pafnuty Chebyshev born in Okatovo, Russia. A professor at St. Petersburg University for most of his life, he made contributions to a variety of fields, including number theory, probability, and approximation theory.

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    Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev

  • 5-16-1830

    Joseph Fourier died in Paris. His work on heat was described by Maxwell as "a great mathematical poem." He traveled to Egypt with Napolean and became convinced that desert heat was ideal for good health. Consequently, he wore many layers of garments and lived in rooms of unbearably high heat, which may have hastened his death by heart disease.

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    Joseph Fourier