Nicolas Fuss

Who was Nicolas Fuss?

Nicolas Fuss, also known as Nikolai Fuss, was a Swiss mathematician, living most of his life in Russia.

Fuss was born in Basel, Switzerland. He moved to Saint Petersburg to serve as a mathematical assistant to Leonhard Euler from 1773–1783, and remained there until his death. He contributed to spherical trigonometry, differential equations, the optics of microscopes and telescopes, differential geometry, and actuarial science. He also contributed to Euclidean geometry, including the problem of Apollonius.

In 1797, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. From 1800–1826, Fuss served as the permanent secretary to the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1812. He died in St. Petersburg.