Brilliant Mathematician and Apologist for Jesus
Leonhard Euler (1707–83), one of the most prominent scientists (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Voltaire and Frederick the Great mocked him; Catherine the Great of Russia employed him; Mathematicians revere him. His name was Leonhard Euler. The son of a Protestant minister, Euler was born on this day, April 15, 1707, in Basel, Switzerland . Euler showed early promise in math, a promise that was amply fulfilled. Gathered together, his works fill sixty encyclopedia-size volumes! He was a founder of analysis and made major advances in arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry and calculus. His symbols are used to this day. The Euler constant, Euler numbers, Eulerian integrals and other mathematical forms are named for him. Euler almost didn't make it into math. His father wanted him to be a minister. But Euler knew what he was best at and pleaded to be allowed to switch courses. His father finally agreed. Euler remained a staunch Calvinist all his life. Catherine I invited the young man to ...