Joseph-Diez Gergonne in Montpellier: A Collection of Unpublished Manuscripts

Exhibition organized by the BIU’s Department of Written and Graphic Heritage, part of the Sciences Library’s heritage collection

Dates: September 5–October 6, 2016
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Location:Science LibraryLobby
Contact:biu-patrimoine-busciences@umontpellier.fr

This exhibition traces the Montpellier career of this extraordinary figure, who is remembered as the founder of the *Annales de mathématiques pures et appliquées*, the first mathematics journal in the modern sense of the term. He left his mark on local history as he held the chair of astronomy at the Faculty of Sciences in Montpellier; he served as its dean from 1820 to 1830 and later became rector of the academy, without giving up his university lectures.

This exhibition was organized at the request of the organizing committee of theinternationalconference“Historyand Pedagogy of Mathematics,” which was held in Montpellier from July 18 to 22, 2016.

Christian Gerini, a professor at the University of Toulon and Gergonne’s official biographer, provided scholarly expertise in developing this exhibition; he will also give a lecture on the subject on Monday, July 18, at 5:30 p.m., which is open to the general public. The University of Toulon’s Department of Scientific Culture and Historical Heritage is also lending the portrait of this figure (designated a Historic Monument).

The BIU’s Heritage Department has also digitized the entire Gergonne collection, which will enable researchers to deepen their understanding of Gergonne’s educational methods. A summary of the exhibition was published in the conference proceedings.

Photo credits: University of Montpellier / SCDI Montpellier – Photography Department