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.

Johann Bernoulli, I was born on August 6, 1667, (old style July 27, 1667), in Basel, Switzerland, the son of Nicolaus Bernoulli, l, an important member of the town council and also a magistrate. He was also the owner of a successful spice business, which he had inherited from his father. Jacob’s mother, Margaretha Schönauer, came from an influential family of bankers and councillors.

Education

The father, Nicolaus, wanted him to study business to continue on the family spice trade business. In 1683, Bernoulli, I attended Basel University to study medicine, contrary to his father’s wishes and obtained a medical degree in Basel in 1694, with a thesis on muscular contraction. However, he ended up not liking medicine.

Johann Bernoulli, I studied mathematics with his older brother Jacob outside of school. They focused their work on infinitesimal calculus and were the first to truly explore this topic.

Soon after the younger brother graduated from university, their relationship descended into jealousy. Both claimed to have discovered the word integral in relation to math, although historians tend to side with Jacob, the older brother.

Career

Bernoulli, I began teaching at the University of Groningen in 1694 but was asked to return to his hometown of Basel by his father-in-law after nine years of teaching there.

In 1696, controversy struck when he agreed to tutor Guillaume de l'Hôpital. l'Hôpital published a textbook on calculus creating l'Hôpital’s Rule, stealing all of Bernoulli’s idea – but there was nothing he could do, as he had signed a contract saying l'Hôpital could use his discoveries.

He proposed the Brachistorchone problem, in 1696, that was later solved by Newton, Leibniz, l'Hôpital, and his brother Jacob. The object was to form a wire in a way that would let a ball traveled down it in the fastest manner possible.

A year later, in 1697, Bernoulli, I proved the Sophomore’s dream, an important mathematical theorem still used to this day.

In 1705, Bernoulli, I learned that Jacob had passed away due to tuberculosis. He was able to take his brother’s old position as a mathematics professor at Basel University.

He participated in the Newton-Leibniz debate, in 1713, arguing that Leibniz deserved credit for the discovery of calculus because his method was more effective in solving certain problems.

Later, Bernoulli, I argued against Newton’s theory of gravity and delayed the acceptance of Newton’s theory throughout Europe.

In 1726, Bernoulli, I published a paper based on a competition sponsored by the French Academy of Science two years earlier. Although he had not won the competition, his paper on the motion was considered valid.

In 1738, he found a rival in his own son, Daniel, 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.

During his last years, Bernoulli, I worked mainly on the principles of mechanics. Johann Bernoulli, I died on January 1, 1748, in Basel, Switzerland.

Achievements

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  Johann Bernoulli, I is remembered as a mathematician, who investigated the then new mathematical calculus, which he applied to the measurement of curves, to differential equations, and to mechanical problems.
  
  Johann Bernoulli, I became known as the Archimedes of his age and enjoyed the title so much he had it inscribed on his tombstone upon his death in 1748.
  
  The lunar crater Bernoulli, located in the northeast part of the Moon, is named jointly after him and his brother Jacob.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Hydrodynamics And Hydraulics

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

    2004

Views

Johann Bernoulli, I released many mathematical papers and supported Leibniz in his debate against Newton and his theory of gravity.

Quotations: "A quantity which is increased or decreased by an infinitely small quantity is neither increased nor decreased."

"But just as much as it is easy to find the differential of a given quantity, so it is difficult to find the integral of a given differential. Moreover, sometimes we cannot say with certainty whether the integral of a given quantity can be found or not."

Membership

• 

  In 1699, Johann Bernoulli, I became a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

  French Academy of Sciences , France

  1699

• 

  In 1701, Johann Bernoulli, I was elected a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

  Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities , Germany

  1701

• 

  In 1712, Johann Bernoulli, I was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.

  Royal Society , United Kingdom

  1712

• 

  In 1725, Johann Bernoulli, I became a member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

  Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences , Russia

  1725

Connections

In 1694, Johann Bernoulli, I married Dorothea Falkner, the daughter of an Alderman of Basel. The couple had five sons and four daughters.

Father:

Nicolaus Bernoulli, l

Mother:

Margaretha Bernoulli (Schönauer)

Brother:

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.

Brother:

Hieronymus Bernoulli

Brother:

Nicolaus Bernoulli, II

Wife:

Dorothea Bernoulli (Falkner)

Son:

Daniel Bernoulli

Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician and physicist, who investigated not only mathematics but also such fields as medicine, biology, physiology, mechanics, physics, astronomy, and oceanography.

Son:

Johann Bernoulli, II

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

Son:

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.

Daughter:

Anna Catharina Dollfus (Bernoulli)

Daughter:

Dorothea Battier (Bernoulli)

opponent:

Jacob Bernoulli, I

Although initially, Johann collaborated with his brother Jacob on various mathematical problems, over the years they became rivals and publicly attacked each other. By 1697, the relationship between the two became so bitter that they were no longer on speaking terms.

opponent:

Daniel Bernoulli

In 1738, Johann Bernoulli, I found a rival in his own son, Daniel, 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 he kicked his son Daniel out of their home after the son took home a mathematical prize in the competition they both had entered.

References

• The Early Period of the Calculus of Variations (1st Edition) This monograph explores the early development of the calculus of variations in continental Europe during the Eighteenth Century by illustrating the mathematics of its founders. Closely following the original papers and correspondences of Euler, Lagrange, the Bernoullis, and others, the reader is immersed in the challenge of theory building.
  2016