Johann Heinrich Lambert Quotes

Johann Heinrich Lambert was born in Mulhouse, Switzerland. He was a Swiss-German mathematician, physicist, astronomer and philosopher who provided the first rigorous proof that π is irrational, meaning that it cannot be expressed as the quotient of two integers. Lambert, the son of a tailor, was largely self-educated and early in his life began geometric and astronomical investigations by means of instruments he designed and built himself. In 1764, he went to Berlin, where he received the patronage of Frederick the Great. His memoir containing the proof that π is irrational was published in 1768. He made the first systematic development of hyperbolic functions. He is also responsible for many innovations in the study of heat and light. Among his most important works are Photometria (The Measurement of Light); Die Theorie der Parallellinien (The Theory of Parallel Lines), which contains results later included in non-Euclidean geometry; and Pyrometrie (The Measurement of Heat).