Riemann, Georg Friedrich Bernhard, << REE mahn, gay AWRK FREE drihkh BEHRN hart >> (1826-1866), a German mathematician, developed a branch of advanced geometry. Riemann also did important work in other areas of advanced mathematics, including calculus, mathematical analysis, and mathematical physics.
Riemann’s 1854 lecture “On the Hypotheses Which Lie at the Foundation of Geometry” became one of the most famous presentations in the history of mathematics. It dealt with a type of non-Euclidian geometry, which replaces a famous postulate (basic statement) developed by the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid. The postulate, often called the parallel postulate, can be stated Through a point not on a given line, only one line can be drawn parallel to the given line. Riemann’s system of geometry replaced Euclid’s parallel postulate with an alternate statement that can be written Through a point not on a given line, no lines can be drawn that are parallel to the given line. This system has become known as elliptic geometry or Riemannian geometry See Geometry (Non-Euclidean geometry) .
Riemann pioneered the view of geometry as the general study of “curved spaces.” His work later enabled the German-born physicist Albert Einstein to develop his theory of general relativity, which holds that gravity results from the curvature (bending) of space and time.
Riemann was born on Sept. 17, 1826, in Breselenz, Hanover (now part of Germany). He studied at the universities of Berlin and Gottingen, earning a doctor’s degree in 1851. Riemann became a professor at Gottingen in 1859. He died on July 20, 1866.
