Description
Lagrange was born in Turin, Italy, into a family of French and Italian backgrounds. His father wished him to pursue a career of law and Lagrange was willing since at first he was not enthusiastic about mathematics and found Greek geometry dull.

He eventually became interested in mathematics after teaching himself. His first work of note was on the tautochrone and his discoveries contributed substantially to the calculus of variations. His ideas impressed Euler greatly and in 1755, aged only 19, Lagrange was appointed professor of mathematics at the Royal Artillery School in Turin.

He remained in Turin producing work on the calculus of variations, the calculus of probabilities and the foundations of dynamics which developed the principle of least action and kinetic theory, as well as a major study on the propagation of sound.

After a personal invitation from Frederick II, the Prussian king, Lagrange succeeded Euler as Director of Mathematics at the Berlin Academy of Science in 1766. Here, he won the prize from the Académie des Sciences of Paris three times.

Lagrange was then inticed to move to Paris by Louis XVI where he eventually worked at the Ecole Polytechnique and did much to develop the strength of scholarship in mathematics there. He was only spared from being arrested during the French Revolution by an intervention from Lavoisier, who subsequently was beheaded. Napoleon named Lagrange to the Legion of Honour and Count of the Empire in 1808. He was named grand croix of the Ordre Impérial de la Réunion on 3rd April 1813, but died a week later.
06/06/2003
Created by: Tudor. Rebecca on 06/06/2003