Many researchers believe that Joseph Lagrange is not a French, but an Italian mathematician. And they hold this opinion not without reason. After all, the future researcher was born in Turin, in 1736. At the christening, the boy was named Giuseppe Ludovico. His father held a high political post in the Sardinian government and also belonged to the noble class. Mother came from a we althy family of a doctor.
Family of the Future Mathematician
Therefore, at first, the family in which Joseph Louis Lagrange was born was quite we althy. But the father of the family was inept, and, however, a very stubborn businessman. Therefore, they soon stood on the verge of ruin. In the future, Lagrange expresses a very interesting opinion about this life circumstance that befell his family. He believes that if his family continued to live a rich and prosperous life, then perhaps Lagrange would never have had a chance to connect his fate with mathematics.
The book that changed my life
The eleventh child of his parents was Joseph Louis Lagrange. His biography, even in this respect, can be called successful: after all, all of histhe rest of the siblings died in early childhood. Lagrange's father was disposed to ensure that his son was educated in the field of jurisprudence. Lagrange himself at first was not opposed. At first he studied at Turin College, where he was very interested in foreign languages and where the future mathematician first got acquainted with the works of Euclid and Archimedes.
However, that fateful moment comes when Lagrange first comes across Galileo's work en titled "On the Advantages of the Analytical Method". Joseph Louis Lagrange became incredibly interested in this book - perhaps it was she who turned his whole future fate upside down. Almost instantly, for a young scientist, jurisprudence and foreign languages fell into the shadow of mathematical science.
According to some sources, Lagrange studied mathematics on his own. According to others, he went to classes at the Turin School. Already at the age of 19 (and according to some sources - at 17), Joseph Louis Lagrange was teaching mathematics at the university. This was due to the fact that the best students in the country at that time had the opportunity to teach.
First work: in the footsteps of Leibniz and Bernoulli
So, from now on, mathematics becomes the main field of Lagrange. In 1754, his first study saw the light of day. The scientist designed it in the form of a letter to the Italian scientist Fagnano dei Toschi. Here, however, Lagrange makes a mistake. Without a supervisor and preparing on his own, he later discovers that his research has already been carried out. The conclusions made by him belonged to Leibniz and JohannBernoulli. Joseph Louis Lagrange even feared accusations of plagiarism. But his fears were completely unfounded. And ahead of the mathematician expected great achievements.
Meet Euler
In 1755-1756, the young scientist sent several of his developments to the famous mathematician Euler, who highly appreciated them. And in 1759, Lagrange sent him another very important study. It was devoted to methods for solving isoperimetric problems, which Euler struggled with for many years. The experienced scientist was very pleased with the discoveries of the young Lagrange. He even refused to publish some of his developments in this area until Joseph Louis Lagrange published his own work.
In 1759, thanks to Euler's proposal, Lagrange became a foreign member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Here Euler showed a little trick: after all, he really wanted Lagrange to live as close as possible to him, and in this way the young scientist could move to Berlin.
Work and overwork
Lagrange was engaged not only in research in the field of mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. He also created a scientific community, which later developed into the Royal Academy of Sciences of Turin. But the price that Joseph Louis Lagrange developed a huge number of theories in exact fields and became at that time the greatest mathematician and astronomer in the world was bouts of depression.
Constant overwork began to remind of itself. Physicians in 1761year they said: they are not going to be responsible for the he alth of Lagrange if he does not moderate his research ardor and does not stabilize his work schedule. The mathematician did not show self-will and listened to the recommendations of doctors. His he alth has stabilized. But depression did not leave him for the rest of his life.
Astronomy research
In 1762, an interesting competition was announced by the Paris Academy of Sciences. To participate in it, it was necessary to submit a work on the subject of the movement of the moon. And here Lagrange manifests himself as a research astronomer. In 1763, he sent his work on the libration of the moon to the commission for consideration. And the article itself arrives at the Academy shortly before the arrival of Lagrange himself. The fact is that the mathematician had to travel to London, during which he fell seriously ill and was forced to stay in Paris.
But even here Lagrange found great benefit for himself: after all, in Paris he managed to get acquainted with another great scientist - d'Alembert. In the capital of France, Lagrange receives a prize for his research on the libration of the moon. And one more prize is awarded to the scientist - two years later he was awarded for the study of two moons of Jupiter.
High position
In 1766 Lagrange returned to Berlin and received an offer to become president of the Academy of Sciences and head of its physics and mathematics department. Numerous Berlin scientists welcomed Lagrange very cordially into their society. He managed to establish strong friendly ties with the mathematicians Lambert and Johann Bernoulli. But in this society there weredetractors. One of them was Castillon, who was three decades older than Lagrange. But after a while their relationship improved. Lagrange married a cousin of Castillon named Vittoria. However, their marriage was childless and unhappy. Often ill wife died in 1783.
The main book of the scientist
In total, the scientist spent more than twenty years in Berlin. Lagrange's Analytical Mechanics is considered the most productive work. This study was written at the time of its maturity. There are only a few great scientists whose legacy would include such a fundamental work. Analytical Mechanics is comparable to Newton's Elements and also to Huygens' Pendulum Clock. It also formulated the famous "Lagrange Principle", the fuller name of which is the "D'Alembert-Lagrange Principle". It belongs to the sphere of general equations of dynamics.
Move to Paris. Sunset life
In 1787 Lagrange moved to Paris. He was completely satisfied with the work in Berlin, but this had to be done for the reason that the situation of foreigners after the death of Frederick II in the city gradually worsened. In Paris, a royal audience was held in honor of Lagrange, and the mathematician even received an apartment in the Louvre. But at the same time, he begins a serious bout of depression. In 1792, the scientist married a second time, and now the union turned out to be a happy one.
At the end of his life, the scientist produces many more works. The last work he planned to undertake was the revision of Analytical Mechanics. But the scientist failed to do this. April 10, 1813Joseph Louis Lagrange died. His quotes, especially one of the last ones, characterize his whole life: “I did my job … I never hated anyone and did no harm to anyone.” The death of the scientist, like life, was calm - he left with a sense of accomplishment.
