A Richer Picture of Mathematics

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Two Rival Centers: Göttingen vs. Berlin

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Introduction to Part I

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 3-18

   3. On Gauss and Gaussian Legends: A Quiz

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 19-28

   4. Gauss, Dirichlet, and the Law of Biquadratic Reciprocity

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 29-39

   5. Episodes in the Berlin-Göttingen Rivalry, 1870–1930

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 41-49

   6. Deine Sonia: A Reading from a Burned Letter by Reinhard Bölling, Translated by D. E. Rowe

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 51-56

   7. Who Linked Hegel’s Philosophy with the History of Mathematics?

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 57-65

3. The Young Felix Klein

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 67-67

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   2. Introduction to Part II

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 69-79

   3. Models as Research Tools: Plücker, Klein, and Kummer Surfaces

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 81-94

   4. Debating Grassmann’s Mathematics: Schlegel vs. Klein

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 95-103

   5. Three Letters from Sophus Lie to Felix Klein on Mathematics in Paris

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 105-109

   6. Klein, Mittag-Leffler, and the Klein-Poincaré Correspondence of 1881–1882

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 111-133

4. David Hilbert Steps Onstage

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 135-135

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   2. Introduction to Part III

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 137-149

   3. Hilbert’s Early Career

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 151-169

   4. Klein, Hurwitz, and the “Jewish Question” in German Academia

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 171-182

   5. On the Background to Hilbert’s Paris Lecture “Mathematical Problems”

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 183-194

   6. Poincaré Week in Göttingen, 22–28 April 1909

      • David E. Rowe

      Pages 195-202

Historian David E. Rowe captures the rich tapestry of mathematical creativity in this collection of essays from the “Years Ago” column of The Mathematical Intelligencer. With topics ranging from ancient Greek mathematics to modern relativistic cosmology, this collection conveys the impetus and spirit of Rowe’s various and many-faceted contributions to the history of mathematics. Centered on the Göttingen mathematical tradition, these stories illuminate important facets of mathematical activity often overlooked in other accounts. 


Six sections place the essays in chronological and thematic order, beginning with new introductions that contextualize each section. The essays that follow recount episodes relating to the section’s overall theme. All of the essays in this collection, with the exception of two, appeared over the course of more than 30 years in The Mathematical Intelligencer. Based largely on archival and primary sources, these vignettes offer unusual insights into behind-the-scenes events. Taken together, they aim to show how Göttingen managed to attract an extraordinary array of talented individuals, several of whom contributed to the development of a new mathematical culture during the first decades of the twentieth century. 

• Mathematical History
• The Mathematical Intelligencer
• Euclidean Geometry
• Hilbert
• Gottingen Mathematics
• Gaussian Mathematics
• Felix Klein
• David Hilbert
• Relativity Revolution
• Courant
• David Rowe
• History of Mathematics

• Institut für Mathematik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany

  David E. Rowe

David E. Rowe is professor emeritus for history of mathematics and natural sciences at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. He studied mathematics (Ph.D. 1981) and history of science (M.A. 1980) at the University of Oklahoma and then took a second doctorate in history at the CUNY Graduate Center, while teaching for ten years at Pace University in New York. Rowe spent two years in Göttingen as a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, and much of his research relates to the Göttingen mathematical tradition. He has written or edited over 100 books and articles and has been invited to lecture at many institutions throughout Europe and North America. With Robert Schulmann he co-edited the sourcebook Einstein on Politics: His Private Thoughts and Public Stands on Nationalism, Zionism, War, Peace, and the Bomb, Princeton, 2007.

Policies and ethics