Louis Olivier: A Mathematician Only Known Through his Publications in Crelle's Journal During the 1820s

Abstract

During the first 3 years of the existence of the Journal fur die reine und angewandte Mathematik (1826–1828), a now unknown mathematician named Louis Olivier contributed 12 articles covering a broad range of contemporary mathematics. Apart from a single ‘faulty’ result, none of these works have received much interest from historians of mathematics. Nevertheless, Olivier’s mathematical production invites historical analysis as it provides the historian with a perspective on the mathematics of the 1820s that is perhaps more typical than the works of the now famous mathematicians. Although he contributed no great new insights into geometry, algebra, or analysis, Olivier dealt with all these topics, in particular with discussions that were up in his time. His publications were not so much aimed at presenting new research but rather with disseminating the established knowledge. As such, they fitted the ambitions that A. L. Crelle (1780–1855) had set for his new journal in 1826. After two productive years with the journal, Olivier faded into complete oblivion soon after 1828. The available sources offer no reason for this. However, Olivier’s publications and the development of the journal during its initial years suggest an explanation why his contributions stopped.