Biography of Joseph Fourier - 1086 Words

Joseph Fourier was born in a modest family at Auxerre, France. Orphaned at an early age, Joseph acquired his initial education from Pallais’s school, which was run by the music teacher from the cathedral. Thereafter he proceeded to the École Royale Militaire of Auxerre. While he showed an aptitude and flair for literature, by the age of thirteen, this was overshadowed by mathematics a subject he found himself really interested in. Joseph completed a study of the six volumes of Bezouts Cours de mathà ©matiques when he was fourteen and in the following year received the first prize for his study of Bossuts Mà ©canique en general. In the year 1787, Fourier took admission in the Benedictine abbey of St Benoit-sur-Loire with a motive to train himself for priesthood. However simultaneously he submitted a paper on algebra to Montucla in Paris and even wrote a letter to Bonard stating his desire to make a major influence in mathematics. This move suggested Fouriers uncertainty a s to whether he really wanted to pursue the training in priesthood or not. In 1789 Fourier left for Paris where he read a paper on algebraic equations at the Acadà ©mie Royale des Sciences. The next year Fourier took up the position of a tutor at the Benedictine college Ecole Royale Militaire of Auxerre where he had studied. As if Fouriers uncertainty to follow a religious life or one of mathematical research was not enough the conflict became worse when he got involved in