Bernhard Riemann

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Bernhard Riemann, lithograph after a portrait, artist unknown, 1863.

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Bernhard Riemann

German mathematician

Also known as: Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann

Written by Jeremy John Gray

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 4, 2024 • Article History

Bernhard Riemann

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In full:: Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann

Born:: September 17, 1826, Breselenz, Hanover [Germany]

Died:: July 20, 1866, Selasca, Italy (aged 39)

Subjects Of Study:: Riemann surface; Riemann zeta function; manifold; space; unified field theory

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Bernhard Riemann (born September 17, 1826, Breselenz, Hanover [Germany]—died July 20, 1866, Selasca, Italy) was a German mathematician whose profound and novel approaches to the study of geometry laid the mathematical foundation for Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. He also made important contributions to the theory of functions, complex analysis, and number theory. Riemann was born into a poor Lutheran pastor’s family, and all his life he was a shy and introverted person. He was fortunate to have a schoolteacher who recognized his rare mathematical ability and lent him advanced books to read, including Adrien-Marie Legendre’s Number Theory (1830). Riemann ...(100 of 1088 words)

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