In the Footsteps of Leibniz: A Visit to Wolfenbüttel, Germany

Abstract

Submissions should be uploaded to http://tmin.edmgr.com or sent directly to Dirk Huylebrouck, huylebrouck@gmail.com G ottfried Wilhelm Leibniz surely belongs in the ranks of famous mathematicians. Many relations and theorems carry his name. Even more influential perhaps are contributions not bearing his name, such as the binary system or the use of the term function for univalent relationships. But, like many scientists of his time, Leibniz is better described as a universal scholar than as a mathematician. In 1691, after serving the duke at Hannover as counselor and librarian for 15 years, Leibniz was also appointed librarian in the residence town of Wolfenbuttel in a neighboring duchy of Northern Germany. The library was considered one of the most important of its time; it was even referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Leibniz served as librarian for the next 25 years, in what we would call today a part-time position, commuting about 70 km eastbound from Hannover to Wolfenbuttel. One of his lasting contributions as librarian at Wolfenbuttel was his development of the decimal classification for cataloguing. Known today as the Herzog August Bibliothek (or HAB for short), the library is of international importance particularly for its collections from the medieval ages to early modernity. From a mathematical perspective one of the HAB’s gems is a booklet entitled Demonstratio Nova Theorematis Omnem Fvnctionem Algebraicam Rationalem Integram Vnus Variabilis In Factores Reales Primi Vel Secvndi Gradvs Resolvi Posse (‘‘New proof of the theorem that every algebraic rational integral function of one variable can be factored into real factors of first or second degree’’). This dissertation of Carl Friedrich Gauss contains the first rigorous proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra; it has been housed at the HAB since it took over the university library of Helmstedt. The ducal university at nearby Helmstedt was closed a decade after Gauss graduated in 1799. The Gaussian dissertation is occasionally on display in the HAB. If not, the interested visitor can read the original in the reading room. Advance notice to the library is recommended, however. Opening hours and contact information can be found on the HAB’s webpage [1] (even in Latin for those who prefer). For those who cannot make it to Wolfenbuttel, the HAB’s contribution to a modern and even larger library provides web access to this work [2]. For the mathematically interested, the HAB offers further reasons for a visit, whether for other mathematics-related works of the 15th to 19th centuries or for the works of Hermann Zapf, the designer of many modern computer fonts. Parts of the library’s collection of Zapf’s work are on permanent exhibition. Not restricted to any visiting hours is a stele displaying various figures related to mathematics and its applications. It is located at the northern rim of the Wolfenbuttel main