Legendre meaning

In addition to the various works of Brewster already noticed, the following may be mentioned: - Notes and Introduction to Carlyle's translation of Legendre's Elements of Geometry (1824); Treatise on Optics (1831); Letters on Natural Magic, addressed to Sir Walter Scott (1831); The Martyrs of Science, or the Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brake, and Kepler (1841); More Worlds than One (1854).

Under the general heading "Analysis" occur the subheadings "Foundations of Analysis," with the topics theory of functions of real variables, series and other infinite processes, principles and elements of the differential and of the integral calculus, definite integrals, and calculus of variations; "Theory of Functions of Complex Variables," with the topics functions of one variable and of several variables; "Algebraic Functions and their Integrals," with the topics algebraic functions of one and of several variables, elliptic functions and single theta functions, Abelian integrals; "Other Special Functions," with the topics Euler's, Legendre's, Bessel's and automorphic functions; "Differential Equations," with the topics existence theorems, methods of solution, general theory; "Differential Forms and Differential Invariants," with the topics differential forms, including Pfaffians, transformation of differential forms, including tangential (or contact) transformations, differential invariants; "Analytical Methods connected with Physical Subjects," with the topics harmonic analysis, Fourier's series, the differential equations of applied mathematics, Dirichlet's problem; "Difference Equations and Functional Equations," with the topics recurring series, solution of equations of finite differences and functional equations.

The director, Schmalfuss, encouraged him in his mathematical studies by lending him books (among them Leonhard Euler's works and Adrien Marie Legendre's Theory of Numbers), which Riemann read, mastered and returned within a few days.

Legendre.

In 1761 he proved the irrationality of 7r; a simpler proof was given somewhat later by Legendre.