Willem Kapteyn

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Willem Kapteyn

Willem Kapteyn also: Kapteijn (born August 16, 1849 in Barneveld , † December 6, 1927 in Utrecht ) was a Dutch mathematician .

Life

Willems parents were Gerrit Jacobus Kapteijn (born June 4, 1812 in Bodegraven; † July 26, 1879 in Barneveld) and his wife Elisabeth Cornelia Koomans (born November 5, 1814 in Rotterdam; † November 24, 1896 in Barneveld). His brother Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn (1851-1922) was an astronomer and professor in Groningen . After attending a private school in his hometown, he completed his university entrance qualification on September 22, 1865 in Leiden . On February 8, 1866, he enrolled at the University of Utrecht , where he began studying philosophical sciences. On June 14, 1872 he received his doctorate with the work Over de theorie der trillende platen, en hair connected met de experimenten (freely translated into German: About the theory of vibrating plates and experiments in addition ) under Cornelis Hubertus Carolus Grinwis for a doctorate in natural sciences and mathematics. He was then a lecturer at the Higher Citizens School (HBS) in Middelburg .

On December 14, 1877, he was appointed professor of mathematics at the Utrecht University, which he held on February 16, 1878 with the speech Den invloed van Augustin Louis Cauchy op de ontwikkeling der mathematische wetenschappen (freely translated into German: The influence of Augustin Louis Cauchy on the development of the mathematical sciences ). In this capacity he taught analytical geometry, descriptive geometry, integral calculus, the theory of functions, probability theory and higher algebra. He also dealt with mechanics and analysis . The Kapteyn series ( series of Bessel functions ) are named after him (they were already known to Lagrange when studying the Kepler problem ). He also took part in the organizational tasks of the Utrecht University and was rector of the Alma Mater in 1900/01 . He was a corresponding member of the Société royale des sciences in Liege and became a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences on May 2, 1894 . His PhD students include Marius van Haaften , NGWH Beeger and Albert Nijland (Utrecht). He retired from his professorship on June 10, 1918 and died nine years later.

Kapteyn married on July 11, 1885 in Utrecht Anna Catharina van Heijst (* July 28, 1864 in Wageningen, † June 8, 1938 in Utrecht), the daughter of Hendrik Paulus van Heijst and his wife Anna Catharina van der Burgh. There are children from the marriage. We know of these

  • Anna Catharina Kapteijn (born May 20, 1886 in Utrecht, † June 5, 1972 in Dordrecht) married. October 8, 1908 with Samuel Crena de Jongh (born August 17, 1883 in Dordrecht, † December 6, 1971 in Dordrecht)
  • Gerrit Jacobus Kapteijn (born May 1, 1888 in Utrecht, † March 30, 1906 in Delft)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Onze Hoogleeraren. Portraits and biographies. Nijgh & van Ditmar. Rotterdam, 1898, p. 184
  2. ↑ Album Studiosorum Academiae Rheno-Traiectinae MDCXXXVI-MDCCCLXXXVI. JL Beiers & J. van Boekhoven. MDCCCLXXXVI, p. 475
  3. ^ Album Promotorum of the Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht 1815-1936. EJ Brill, 1963, p. 124
  4. ↑ Kapteyn Recherches sur les fonctions de Fourier – Bessel , Ann. Sci. Ecole Norm. Sup., 1893, 91-120
personal data
SURNAME Kapteyn, Willem
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Willem Kapteijn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH Barneveld
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1927
Place of death Utrecht