Introduction and Early Years

Hello. If you are reading this, then you have some interest in learning who I am and what I meant to the mathematics community. I thank you for being here as this means that my time writing this is well spent. My name is Christian Felix Klein, but you can call me Felix. For today's installment, I'd like to give you a bit of background information about myself and take a look into my early years of life. It's a great start for our journey.

The remarkable Rhine River that outskirts Düsseldorf, Germany (1922)

I was born April 25th, 1849. In the European way of dating, that's 25/4/1849 or (5)²/(2)²/(43)². I find it exhilarating that the day, month, and year are all squares of prime numbers (it’s the mathematician in me). I was born in Düsseldorf, Germany to my mom, Elise Sophie Klein (Kayser), and to my father, Caspar Klein. Both of my parents were Prussians and of Protestant faith. My father was a secretary for a Prussian government official. Until the time I was 6, my mother educated me herself. Then it was time for me to attend private school. I attended a private school only until I was 8 years of age, then left that school to attend the Düsseldorf Gymnasium in 1857.

Hold on, it’s not as fun as it sounds. Gymnasium has a different meaning in Germany. It is a school that prepares students for university entrance; not a place where people practice flips and tricks. I excelled in mathematics at the Gymnasium as proved on my Abitur exam. After my time at the Düsseldorf Gymnasium was complete, I decided to continue my studies at the University of Bonn in Germany at 16 years old. Originally, I studied mathematics and the natural sciences and intended to become a physicist. But during my time there, I was honored to be an assistant of the famous mathematician, Julius Plücker, and he changed my mind on what I wanted to focus on. I was influenced by Plücker and his analytical geometric approach. I aided Plücker in his writings of his mathematical work.

While still working towards my doctorate, Plücker died, prematurely, in May of 1868. This left me to finish his latest work on line geometry. I was to complete the second part of Plücker’s Neue Géometrie des Raumes, which can be translated to New Space Geometry. I achieved my doctorate in mathematics in December of 1868 when I was 19, under the supervision of Julius Plücker. My dissertation was on line geometry and its application to mechanics and was heavily influenced by the work of Plücker. I, in fact, dedicated my dissertation to Plücker and reference his work multiple times.

My relationship with Plücker transformed me into the mathematician I am today. I would not have accomplished so much without his guidance. All of my achievements are due to him and I will always reference to him when I talk about my successes. Next posting, I will continue my story to what I did after my time at University of Bonn and more about what was going on during the time I lived.

                                 

Thanks for reading.

References:

Felix Klein. (2012). Famous-Mathematicians.com. Retrieved from http://www.famous-mathematicians.com/felix-klein/

Halstead, G. (1894). Biography: Professor Felix Klein. The American Mathematical Monthly. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2969034

O’Connor, J and Robertson, E. (2003). Felix Christian Klein. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. Retrieved from http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Klein.html

Schubring, G. (2000). Felix Klein. The First Century of the Internet Commission Mathematical Instruction (1908-2008): History of ICMI. Retrieved from

http://www.icmihistory.unito.it/portrait/klein.php#bib

Picture:
http://www.paddlesteamers.info/RheinHistory.htm