Nicolaus Theodor Reimer

Nicolaus Theodor Reimer (born February 23, 1772 in Rendsburg , † January 21, 1832 in Kiel ) was a German mathematician.

Live and act

Nicolaus Theodor Reimer was a son of the Rendsburg pastor Georg Reimer (born November 6, 1741 in Flensburg ; † October 23, 1804 in Rendsburg) and his wife Anna Catharina (not Sophia), née Sievers (born April 11, 1744 in Süderbrarup ; † July 9, 1796 in Rendsburg), whose father Georg Hinrich Sievers was a pastor.

After attending the Rendsburg Latin School, Reimer studied theology at the University of Kiel from 1788 . He also attended courses on philology and law. After the theological exam in Glückstadt in 1792 , he studied mathematics and philology at the University of Göttingen . In 1796 he was promoted to Dr. phil is doing his doctorate. He then worked as an adjunct at the philological faculty. Two years later he moved to the Societät der Wissenschaften as an assessor and, in 1800, worked as an adjunct in the philosophy faculty of the university.

In 1801 Reimer received a call from the University of Kiel as an associate professor for mathematics. On May 8, 1803, he married Catharina Charlotta Lorentzen in Kiel (* May 8, 1779 in Kiel; † July 23, 1849 there), whose father Nicolaus Heinrich Sedien Lorentzen was a merchant. In 1804 he took over the administration of the Kiel observatory . Here he tried to improve the insufficient inventory by buying new instruments, but failed with the project.

In 1810 Reimer received a full professorship. From 1813 he not only taught mathematics, but also worked as the accountant of the Royal Forest Institute. In 1813 he also took over the offices of quaestor and aedilis at Kiel University. In 1817 the post of accounting officer of the academic hospital and the botanical garden was added. In 1817/18 he was rector of the university and in 1824 he became a budget adviser.

In addition to his professional activities, Reimer was considered a talented musician and poet who wrote stories and poems. BA Werner set some of the works to music that are no longer known today.

Scientific work

Due to his extensive administrative duties, Reimer published little. In his mathematical treatises he dealt with the history of the subject. This included mathematical poems from the Greek anthology. In 1804 he translated and revised the "Essai sur l'histoire générale des mathématiques", which Charles Bossut had created two years earlier.

In his classes he dealt in particular with the "Analysis of the Infinite", including algebra. He preferred to speak about "Analysis and higher geometry" and "Functional theory and differential calculus".

literature

• Fritz Treichel: Reimer, Nicolaus Theodor . in: Schleswig-Holstein Biographical Lexicon . Volume 4. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1976, p. 194
• Carsten Erich Carstens:  Reimer, Nicolaus Theodor . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 27, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, p. 714.