Paul Mansion

Paul Mansion
Born(1844-06-03)3 June 1844
Marchin, near Huy, Belgium
Died16 April 1919(1919-04-16) (aged 74)
Ghent, Belgium
Alma materUniversity of Ghent
SpouseMarie-Cécile Belpaire
ParentFernande Devreux
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsUniversity of Ghent
ThesisThéorie de la multiplication et de la transformation des fonctions elliptiques (1867)
Doctoral advisorFélix Dauge
Mathias Schaar
Notable studentsGeorge Sarton
Signature

Paul Mansion (3 June 1844 – 16 April 1919) was a Belgian mathematician, editor of the journal Mathesis.

Life and work

Mansion was the ninth of ten brothers. His father died when he was only a baby and he was brought up by his mother and his older brothers. He studied at Huy school and high school.[1] In 1862 he entered in the École Normale des Sciences, attached to the University of Ghent, where he graduated in 1865. From this time till 1867 he taught mathematics in the artillery academy in Ghent, while he was working in his doctoral thesis. He was awarded PhD in 1867.[2]

In 1867, after the death of his professor Mathias Schaar, he was appointed to the chair of calculus at the university of Ghent.[3] He remained there until he was appointed to the chair of probability in 1892.[4] Also, from 1884, he taught the history of mathematics.

In 1874, with Eugene Catalan, he founded the journal Nouvelle Correspondence Mathématique, and in 1880, with Joseph Neuberg, he founded the journal Mathesis.[5]

The works of Mansion, deal mainly with non-Euclidean geometry,[6] history of mathematics,[7] and differential equations. He published 349 works in very different journals.[8]

References

  1. ^ Demoulin 1929, p. 78.
  2. ^ Demoulin 1929, p. 80.
  3. ^ Demoulin 1929, p. 82.
  4. ^ Demoulin 1929, p. 91.
  5. ^ Demoulin 1929, pp. 106–107.
  6. ^ Walter 1999, p. 105.
  7. ^ Pyenson 1989, p. 360.
  8. ^ Demoulin 1929, pp. 117–147.

Bibliography

  • Demoulin, A. (1929). "La vie et l'oeuvre de Paul Mansion" (PDF). Annuaire (in French): 77–147.
  • Walter, Scott (1999). "The non-euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity". In Jeremy Gray (ed.). The Symbolic Universe: Geometry and Physics 1890-1930. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–127. ISBN 978-0-19-850088-9.
  • Pyenson, Lewis (1989). "What is the Good of History of Science?". History of Science. 27 (4): 353–389. doi:10.1177/007327538902700402. ISSN 0073-2753. PMID 11622212. S2CID 39613189.