August Ferdinand Möbius

Mathematician, Academic

1790 – 1868

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Who was August Ferdinand Möbius?

August Ferdinand Möbius was a German mathematician and theoretical astronomer.

He is best known for his discovery of the Möbius strip, a non-orientable two-dimensional surface with only one side when embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. It was independently discovered by Johann Benedict Listing around the same time. The Möbius configuration, formed by two mutually inscribed tetrahedra, is also named after him. Möbius was the first to introduce homogeneous coordinates into projective geometry.

Many mathematical concepts are named after him, including the Möbius transformations, important in projective geometry, and the Möbius transform of number theory. His interest in number theory led to the important Möbius function μ and the Möbius inversion formula. In Euclidean geometry, he systematically developed the use of signed angles and line segments as a way of simplifying and unifying results.

Möbius was born in Schulpforta, Saxony-Anhalt, and was descended on his mother's side from religious reformer Martin Luther. He studied mathematics under Carl Friedrich Gauss and Johann Pfaff. Möbius died in Leipzig in 1868 at the age of 77.

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Born
Nov 17, 1790
Schulpforta
Also known as
  • August Ferdinand Mobius
Nationality
  • Germany
Profession
Education
  • University of Göttingen
  • University of Leipzig
  • Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg
Employment
  • University of Leipzig
Lived in
  • Saxony-Anhalt
  • Germany
Died
Sep 26, 1868
Leipzig

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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