Lagrange – Footpath Math: Chalk it up to a math geek

September 2, 2015November 14, 2025

Mascheroni Construction

Lorenzo Mascheroni was born in 1750 outside of Bergamo in what is now northern Italy. This was before Napoléon Bonaparte was born, much less taking over the world, and Lombardy was under Austrian control. Young Lorenzo grew up in a wealthy, landowning family. Math folk like to think big, really big, infinitely big. Mascheroni was not … Continue reading Mascheroni Construction

March 17, 2013November 4, 2015

Lagrange Four Squares

Rue Lagrange Paris, France 2013/03/12 On the flight to Paris, while I should have been sleeping, I was thinking about math. (Not entirely unusual apart from being some 30,000 feet above the Atlantic.) France is kind of a big deal for math history. One of the Paris’ oldest churches, St-Germain-des-Prés, entombs a portion of Descartes.0 … Continue reading Lagrange Four Squares