Person:GAUSS, Carl Friedrich (1777-1855)
From Gauss and his Children
| GAUSS, Carl Friedrich (1777-1855) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Family(s): | Gauss |
| Link to Gauss genealogy: | GED link  I21
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| Sex: | M |
| Date born: | 30 Apr 1777 |
| Date died: | 23 Feb 1855 |
| Parents: | GAUSS, Gebhard Dietrich (1744 - 1808), BENZE, Dorthea (1743 - 1839) |
| Spouse(s): | OSTHOFF, Johanna Elizabeth Rosina (1780 - 1809), WALDECK, Friederica Wilhelmine (1788 - 1831) |
| Children: | |
Biography
Writing a biographical note on Carl Friedrich Gauss is a daunting proposition. He was a gifted genius and made many contributions to mathematics, physics, astronomy, surveying and other scientific fields. He was also a gifted linguist, mastering a number of languages. All of his scientific work was written in Latin as was the custom in his day. In addition, he was fluent in French, and learned Russian at a relatively advanced age. Much biographical information is found elsewhere; for instance, see wikipedia:Carl Friedrich Gauss, The Sesquicentennial of the Birth of Gauss on this site and other links below. However, I can write about my experience with Gauss.
My Life with Gauss
Many people have asked me when I learned of my relationship to Carl Friedrich Gauss, or how I discovered it. The answer is that I have always known. My great grandfather, Charles Henry Gauss corresponded with Florian Cajori on the subject of his his father, Eugene Gauss, son of Carl Friedrich Gauss. One of my mother's aunts, Minna Waldeck Gauss Reeves, an elementary school teacher in Arkansas, introduced Guy Waldo Dunnington to the subject of her grandfather, Carl F. Gauss, who became a major subject of Dunnington's academic life. Dunnington corresponded extensively with my great grandfather, his brother, Robert Gauss, and a cousin, William T. Gauss. A tray, said to be made of a pillow from Gauss' home hung on our wall(See below). My father announced our illustrious ancestry to every mathematician, physicist or engineer he met, much to my mother's embarrassment.
When I was in college at Texas Christian University (TCU), I typed for the mathematics department part-time, incognito; I was quite shy and couldn't bear to bring attention to myself. The summer of 1970, TCU held a convention of mathematics. I was asked with a friend to be a sort of hostess, bringing donuts and setting up the coffee machine. The professor from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where I went to high school, had, of course been informed by my father of the relationship. Upon being introduced to me, he let the cat out of the bag. Someone introduced me to the mathematical throng, and they gave me a standing ovation. I had not been told that they would like me to say a few words, and I fled, not knowing what else to do. Throughout the week I was peppered with odd questions, like "What is your name now?" and "What is your real name?". These left me rather speechless, as my real name has always been Susan Chambless. Of course, I was also asked questions about how I became aware of my relationship to Gauss.
In 1982, my mother's uncle, Fred Reeves died, and his wife, Minna, who was nearly blind had to break up house. My parents and aunt went to Eudora, Arkansas, where they were living, and sorted through rooms full of stuff, leaving a final sorting for later. Before they went back, my father suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. My mother was just going to let it all go, but I convinced her that we could go down and get it. So we did. We drove down, rented a trailer, and packed it up with the help of some of the local residents. We had to make some quick choices about what should go to charity and what to take, but one of the things we brought back to St. Louis was a huge cherry dresser that had been promised to my aunt. It turned out to be full of old, hand made linens, and many, many old letters, collected by my great grandfather and two of his daughters, Anne Durfee Gauss and Minna. Eventually, my mother gave the letters to me, and I have been posting them, bit by bit on this site.
--S. Chambless
References
External References
Gauss sites
- Gauss-Gesellschaft e.V. Göttingen (German)
- The Dunnington Collection] at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
- A Gauss Bibliography
- OASIS - material donated to Harvard by Helen Worthington Gauss.
About young Gauss doing addition.
References on this Site:
Mentioned in Letters:
Mentioned in Other Documents:
 Carl Friedrich Gauss |
 Carl Friedrich Gauss |
 House n Brunswick, Germany where Gauss was born. |
 Gauss at the observatory in Goettingen. |
 Carl Friedrich Gauss |
 Fig7 |
 Fig8 |
 Gauss 8 |
 Gauss1 |
Carl Friedrich Gauss |
 Gauss Medal |
 Deathbed photograph of Carl F. Gauss. |
 Gauss & Weber |
 Tray made from Gauss' pillow. |
 Detail of embroidery from Gauss pillow. |
