Background

Ethnicity: The Bernoulli family came originally from Antwerp, at that time in the Spanish Netherlands, but emigrated to escape the Spanish persecution of the Protestants. After a brief period in Frankfurt the family moved to Basel, in Switzerland.

Daniel Bernoulli was born on February 8, 1700, in Groningen, Netherlands, to Johann Bernoulli, a mathematician, who was one of the early developers of calculus, and Dorothea Falkner.

Education

Bernoulli wanted to become a mathematician but his father encouraged him to pursue a business career. At the age of 13, his father sent him to Basel University to study philosophy and logic. He completed his bachelor’s degree in 1715 and went on to obtain his master’s degree in 1716.

After that, upon his father’s wishes, Bernoulli agreed to study medicine on the condition that his father would teach him mathematics privately. He studied medicine in Basel, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1721.

Career

Just like his father, Bernoulli wanted an academic career in the university, but he did not succeed. As he was unable to get an academic post, he went to the city of Venice to study practical medicine.

In 1723 - 1724, Bernoulli published one of his earliest mathematical works titled Exercitationes quaedam Mathematicae (Mathematical Exercises). It focused on differential equations and the physics of flowing water.

In 1724, he was appointed the professor of mathematics at Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, a post he served in for eight years. In 1733, after a temporary illness, he resigned from his post and returned to Basel.

In 1733, Bernoulli became a professor of botany and anatomy at the University of Basel and later, accepted a post in physiology in 1743.

In 1738, he discussed the basis of the kinetic theory of gases in his work Hydrodynamica, which dealt with the properties of basic importance in fluid flow, particularly pressure, density, and velocity, and emphasized on their fundamental relationship.

Subsequently, he came out with his most important work called Bernoulli’s principle, which states that the pressure in a fluid decreases as its velocity increases. In 1750, after being appointed to the chair of physics at the University; he served as the professor of physics until his death.

Bernoulli also published numerous papers dealing with mechanics which mainly focused on the problems connected with vibrating strings. He worked with Euler on elasticity as well as on the development of the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation.

He also authored the Specimen theoriae novae de mensura sortis (Exposition of a New Theory on the Measurement of Risk) which is the basis of the economic theory of risk aversion, risk premium and utility.

His later works comprised of statistics and probability. His last work involved the application of probability theory to various practical matters, such as inoculation and relative proportion of male and female births. Daniel Bernoulli died on March 17, 1782, in Basel, Switzerland, and was buried in Basel (Peterskirche).

Achievements

• 

  Daniel Bernoulli was a mathematician and physicist, who is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics. His name is commemorated in the Bernoulli's principle, a particular example of the conservation of energy, which describes the mathematics of the mechanism underlying the operation of two important technologies of the 20th century: the carburetor and the airplane wing.
  
  Daniel Bernoulli did produce several other excellent scientific works during his job in Basel. He won several awards for his contribution to laws and theories of physics and mathematics. In 1737, he won for work on the best shape for a ship’s anchor. In 1740, he won for his work on essays on magnetism. Other awards include one in 1747 for a method to determine time at sea and in 1753 for the effects of forces on ships. Between 1725 and 1749, Daniel Bernoulli won 10 prizes from the Paris Academy for his work in astronomy, tides, magnetism and ocean currents.
  
  Bernoulli’s theorem, which he derived, is named after him.
  
  In 2002, Bernoulli was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Hydrodynamics And Hydraulics

    (Daniel Bernoulli's Hydrodynamica, published in 1738, mark...)

    2004
  • Recherches Mechaniques Et Astronomiques (1750) 2009

Views

The most remarkable work of Daniel Bernoulli was the Bernoulli’s theorem, related to the field of hydrodynamics. It states, in effect, that the total mechanical energy of the flowing fluid, comprising the energy associated with fluid pressure, the gravitational potential energy of elevation, and the kinetic energy of fluid motion, remains constant. The theorem still forms the basis of many engineering applications, such as aircraft wing design.

He also established the basis for the kinetic theory of gases and heat by demonstrating that the impact of molecules on a surface would explain pressure and that, assuming the constant, random motion of molecules, pressure and motion increase with temperature.

Quotations: "The determination of the value of an item must not be based on its price, but rather on the utility it yields. The price of the item is dependent only on the thing itself and is equal for everyone; the utility, however, is dependent on the particular circumstances of the person making the estimate. Thus there is no doubt that a gain of one thousand ducats is more significant to a pauper than to a rich man though both gain the same amount."

"It would be better for the true physics if there were no mathematicians on earth."

"There is no philosophy which is not founded upon knowledge of the phenomena, but to get any profit from this knowledge it is absolutely necessary to be a mathematician."

Membership

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  In 1724, Daniel Bernoulli became a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna.

  Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna , Italy

  1724

• 

  In 1733, Daniel Bernoulli became a foreign honorary member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

  Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences , Russia

  1733

• 

  In 1747, Daniel Bernoulli became a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

  Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities , Germany

  1747

• 

  In 1748, Daniel Bernoulli became a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

  French Academy of Sciences , France

  1748

• 

  In May 1750, Daniel Bernoulli was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

  Royal Society , United Kingdom

  1750

Connections

Daniel Bernoulli was never married and really knew no other life except for mathematics.

Father:

Johann Bernoulli, I

Johann Bernoulli, I, also known as Jean or John, was a Swiss mathematician, classical philologist and professor of mathematics at the University of Basel, who is known for his contributions to infinitesimal calculus and educating Leonhard Euler in the pupil's youth.

Mother:

Dorothea Bernoulli (Falkner)

Brother:

Johann Bernoulli, II

Johann Bernoulli, II, also known as Jean, was a Swiss mathematician, physicist and professor of mathematics at the University of Basel.

Brother:

Nicolaus Bernoulli, V

Nicolaus Bernoulli, V was a Swiss mathematician, professor of mathematics in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family.

Sister:

Anna Catharina Dollfus (Bernoulli)

Sister:

Dorothea Battier (Bernoulli)

Brother:

Johann Jacob Bernoulli

Brother:

Emanuel Bernoulli, I

Uncle:

Jacob Bernoulli, I

Jacob Bernoulli, I, also known as James or Jacques, was a Swiss mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Basel, who devoted his career to the study of calculating complex numerical formulas.

colleague:

Leonhard Euler

Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician and engineer, who made important and influential discoveries in many branches of mathematics, such as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory, while also making pioneering contributions to several branches such as topology and analytic number theory.

opponent:

Johann Bernoulli, I

In 1738, Daniel Bernoulli found a rival in his own father, Johann, as the two of them attempted to publish a paper of hydrodynamics in the same year. The father dated his paper two years prior to the actual publication date to combat the competition.

It is reported that Johann kicked his son out of their home after the son took home a mathematical prize in the competition they both had entered.

References

• Aerodynamics for Engineering Students Aerodynamics for Engineering Students, Seventh Edition, is one of the world’s leading course texts on aerodynamics. It provides concise explanations of basic concepts, combined with an excellent introduction to aerodynamic theory.
  2016
• Daniel Bernoulli Daniel Bernoulli is the most distinguished of the second generation of the Bernoulli family of the Swiss mathematicians. He investigated not only mathematics but also such fields as medicine, biology, physiology, mechanics, physics, astronomy, and oceanography.
  2017