Henri Bosmans

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Henri Bosmans , SJ (born April 7, 1852 in Mechelen , † February 3, 1928 in Brussels ) was a Belgian mathematician .

Live and act

Henri Bosmans joined the Jesuit Order in 1871 and studied at the Jesuit College Saint-Barbe in Ghent from 1879 to 1882 . He then worked as a teacher at the college in Ghent. In 1887 he came to teach mathematics at the Jesuit college of Saint-Michel in Brussels . From 1894 he published mathematical works, initially problems and solutions under a pseudonym in L'Intermediaire des Mathematiciens . However, he soon rose to become one of the leading mathematical historians through his work in particular among mathematicians from the Benelux countries of the 16th and 17th centuries and Jesuit mathematicians (many of whom were missionaries in China, so that he also dealt with the history of Chinese mathematics and the history of astronomy) his time, which was highly valued by authorities such as Gustav Eneström , Florian Cajori , Gino Loria and Moritz Cantor , and later also George Sarton , because of the exact source studies behind it. At his death he had published over 300 papers, most of which were dedicated to individual mathematicians or individual works. According to Albrecht Heefer, this was one reason why something later fell into oblivion, in contrast to, for example, Cajori and Cantor, who summarized their research in large historical overviews.

Some of the sources edited by Bosmans are only preserved in his exact copies, since many manuscripts were lost in the fire of the University Library in Löwen in 1914 under German occupation.

literature

  • Adolphe Rome : Le RP Henri Bosmans, SJ (1852-1928) . In: Isis 12, 1929, No. 1, pp. 88-112 (with bibliography).
  • Henri Bernard-Maître : Un historien des mathématiques en Europe et en Chine, le père Henri Bosmans SJ (1852–1928) . In: Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences 12, 1950, pp. 619–628 (with bibliography).
  • Albrecht Heeffer: Father Henri Bosmans (SJ). A Belgian pioneer in the history of mathematics] . In: History and Pedagogy of Mathematics Newsletter 65, 2007, pp. 12–15 ( digital ).
  • Michel Hermans, Jean-François Stoffel (ed.): Le Père Henri Bosmans sj (1852–1928), historien des mathématiques. Actes des Journées d'études organisées les 12 et 13 may 2006 au Center interuniversitaire d'études des religions et de laïcité de l'Université libre de Bruxelles et le 15 may 2008 aux Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix à Namur . Académie royale de Belgique, Brussels 2010 (therein pp. 253-298 Bibliography).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ For example the only copy of L'Appendice Algebrique by Simon Stevin or marginal notes by Gemma R. Frisius on an algebra text by Michael Stifel , which indicate Frisius' occupation with algebra.
personal data
SURNAME Bosmans, Henri
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian Jesuit and mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH April 7, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Mechelen
DATE OF DEATH February 3, 1928
Place of death Brussels