Joseph Louis Lagrange is a mathematician, astronomer and mechanic

Many researchers believe that Joseph Lagrange is not a French, but an Italian mathematician. And they adhere to this opinion is not without reason. After all, the future researcher was born in Turin, in 1736. During the baptism, the boy was named Giuseppe Ludovico. His father held a high political office under the administration of Sardinia, and also belonged to the nobility class. Mother came from a well-to-do family doctor.

Family of the future mathematician

Therefore, in the beginning, the family in which Joseph Louis Lagrange was born was well-off. But the father of the family was unskillful, and, however, a very persistent businessman. So they soon stood on the brink of ruin. In the future, Lagrange expresses a very interesting opinion about this vital circumstance that befell his family. He believes that if his family continued to live a rich and prosperous life, then, perhaps, Lagrange would never have had a chance to link his fate with mathematics.

The book that turned life around

The eleventh child of his parents was Joseph Louis Lagrange. Even in this respect his biography can be called successful: after all, all his other brothers and sisters died in early childhood. The father of Lagrange was disposed to have his son educated in the field of jurisprudence. Lagrange himself was not against it at first. First he studied at the Turin College, where he was very attracted to foreign languages and where the future mathematician first met with the writings of Euclid and Archimedes.

However, the fatal moment comes when Lagrange first comes across the work of Galileo under the title "On the advantages of the analytical method." Joseph Louis Lagrange was incredibly interested in this book - perhaps it was she who turned all his future destiny. Almost instantly, for a young scientist, jurisprudence and foreign languages remained in the shadow of mathematical science.

According to some sources, Lagrange was engaged in mathematics independently. On others, he went to the lessons of the Turin School. Already in 19 years (and according to some sources - in 17) Joseph Louis Lagrange was engaged in teaching mathematics at the university. This was due to the fact that the best students of the country at that time had the opportunity to teach.

The first work: following the footsteps of Leibniz and Bernoulli

So, from now on, mathematics becomes the main arena of Lagrange. In 1754, his first research was published. The scientist designed it in the form of a letter to the Italian scientist Fagnano dei Tosca. However, here Lagrange makes a mistake. Without a supervisor and preparing himself, he subsequently discovers that his research has already been carried out. The conclusions he made belonged to Leibniz and Johann Bernoulli. Joseph Louis Lagrange even feared accusations of plagiarism. But his fears were completely in vain. And ahead of mathematics expected great achievements.

Acquaintance with Euler

In 1755-1756 the young scientist sent several of his developments to the well-known mathematician Euler, who he highly appreciated. And in 1759, Lagrange sent him another very important study. It was devoted to ways of solving isoperimetric problems, over which Euler fought for many years. An experienced scientist was very pleased with the discoveries of the young Lagrange. He even refused to publish some of his developments in this area until Joseph Louis Lagrange published his own work.

In 1759, thanks to the proposal of Euler, Lagrange is the foreign member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Here Euler showed a little trick: after all, he really wanted Lagrange to live as close to him as possible, and so the young scientist could move to Berlin.

Work and overwork

Lagrange was not only engaged in research in mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. He also created a scientific community, which later became the Royal Academy of Sciences of Turin. But at the cost of the fact that Joseph Louis Lagrange developed a huge number of theories in precise areas and at that time became the greatest mathematician and astronomer in the world, there began to be bouts of depression.

Start to remind yourself of a constant overwork. Doctors in 1761 said: they are not going to be responsible for the health of Lagrange, if he does not moderate his research ardor and does not stabilize the working schedule. The mathematician did not show self-will and obeyed the recommendations of the doctors. His health stabilized. But the depression did not leave him for the rest of his life.

Research in the field of astronomy

In 1762, the Paris Academy of Sciences announced an interesting competition. To participate in it, it was necessary to provide work on the theme of the movement of the moon. And here Lagrange manifests itself as an astronomer-researcher. In 1763 he sent to the commission his work on the libration of the moon. And the article itself arrives at the Academy shortly before the arrival of Lagrange himself. The fact is that mathematics was to travel to London, during which he fell seriously ill and was forced to stop in Paris.

But here too, Lagrange found a great advantage for himself: after all, in Paris he was able to get acquainted with another great scientist, D'Alembert. In the French capital, Lagrange receives a prize for his research on the lunar lunation. And another prize is awarded to a scientist - two years later he was awarded for researching two satellites of Jupiter.

High post

In 1766, Lagrange returned to Berlin and received an offer to become president of the Academy of Sciences and head of its physics and mathematics department. A lot of Berlin scientists very warmly welcomed Lagrange into their society. He managed to establish strong friendships with mathematicians Lambert, Johann Bernoulli. But in this society there were also ill-wishers. One of them was Castillon, who was three decades older than Lagrange. But after a while their relationship improved. Lagrange married the cousin of Castiglion named Vittoria. However, their marriage was childless and unhappy. Often the ill wife died in 1783.

The main book of the scientist

In total, the scientist spent more than twenty years in Berlin. The most productive work is "Analytical Mechanics" of Lagrange. This study was written at the time of his maturity. There are only a few great scientists, among whose legacy there is such a fundamental work. "Analytical Mechanics" is comparable to the "Beginnings" of Newton, as well as Huygens' "Pendulum Clock". It also formulated the famous "Principle of Lagrange", the fuller title of which is "The D'Alembert-Lagrange Principle". It belongs to the sphere of general equations of dynamics.

Moving to Paris. Sunset of life

In 1787, Lagrange moved to Paris. He was completely satisfied with the work in Berlin, but this had to be done for the reason that the situation of foreigners after the death of Friedrich II in the city gradually deteriorated. In Paris, in honor of Lagrange, a royal audience was held, and the mathematician even got an apartment in the Louvre. But at the same time, he begins a serious attack of depression. In 1792, the scientist married a second time, and now the union was happy.

At the end of his life, the scientist produces many more works. The last work, for which he planned to undertake, was to review "Analytical Mechanics." But the scientist failed to do this. On April 10, 1813, Joseph Louis Lagrange passed away. Quotations of him, especially one of the last, characterize his whole life: "I did my job ... I never hated anyone and did no one any evil." The death of a scientist, like life, was calm - he left with a sense of accomplishment.