Charles Hermite

Charles Hermite (24 December 1822 – 14 January 1901) was a French mathematician who did research concerning number theory, quadratic forms, invariant theory, orthogonal polynomials, elliptic functions, and algebra. Quotes Hermite was born in 1822, four years before Riemann. Now in his sixties, he had become one of the standard-bearers for Cauchy and Riemann's work on functions of imaginary numbers. Cauchy's influence on Hermite went beyond mathematics. As a young man Hermite had been an agnostic, but Cauchy, a devout Roman Catholic, had caught Hermite in a weak moment during a severe illness and had converted him to Catholicism. The result was a strange mix of mathematical mysticism, akin to the cult of the Pythagoreans. Hermite believed that mathematical existence was some supernatural state which mortal mathematicians were only occasionally allowed to glimpse. Marcus du Sautoy The Music of the Primes 103 External links Category:Mathematicians from France Category:University of Paris alumni Category:1822 births Category:1901 deaths