Pierre Boutroux

Pierre Boutroux circa 1911

Pierre Léon Boutroux (6 December 1880 – 15 August 1922) was a French mathematician and historian of science. Boutroux is chiefly known for his work in the history and philosophy of mathematics.

Biography

He was born in Paris on 6 December 1880 into a well connected family of the French intelligentsia. His father was the philosopher Émile Boutroux. His mother was Aline Catherine Eugénie Poincaré, sister of the scientist and mathematician Henri Poincaré. A cousin, Raymond Poincaré was to be President of France.

He occupied the mathematics chair at Princeton University from 1913 until 1914.^[1] He occupied the History of sciences chair from 1920 to 1922.

Boutroux published his major work Les principes de l'analyse mathématique in two volumes; Volume 1 in 1914 and Volume 2 in 1919. This is a comprehensive view of the whole field of mathematics at the time.

He died on 15 August 1922.

References

1. ^ "Princeton Gets Prof. Boutroux". Christian Science Monitor. April 26, 1913. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/221753652.html?dids=221753652:221753652&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Apr+26,+1913&author=&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=PRINCETON+GETS+PROF.+BOUTROUX&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2010-11-09. "Prof. Pierre Boutroux of Poitiers, France, will join the faculty of Princeton University next fall, according to a cable message received here Friday by Dr. Hibben." 

Further reading

• R S Calinger, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York 1970-1990).
• L Brunschvicg, L'oeuvre de Pierre Boutroux, Revue de métaphysique et de morale 29-30 (1922), 285-289.
• Lettre de M Pierre Boutroux a M Mittag-Leffler, in The mathematical heritage of Henri Poincaré 2 (Providence, R.I., 1983), 441-445.

External links

• Boutroux summary at www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk

Persondata
Name	Boutroux, Pierre
Alternative names
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Date of birth	6 December 1880
Place of birth
Date of death	15 August 1922
Place of death