Hermite, Charles (1822–1901)

French mathematician who was a principal contributor to the development of the theory of algebraic forms, the arithmetical theory of quadratic forms, and the theories of elliptic and Abelian functions. Much of his work was highly innovative, especially his solution of the quintic equation through elliptic modular functions, and his proof of the transcendence of e.

Hermite was born in Dieuze, Lorraine, and studied at the Lycée Louis le Grand and the Ecole Polytechnique, Paris. He became professor at the Ecole Normale in 1869, moving to the Sorbonne in 1870.

Between 1847 and 1851 he worked on the arithmetical theory of quadratic forms and the use of continuous variables. Then for he worked on the theory of invariants 1854–64.

In 1873 he worked out Hermitian forms (a complex generalization of quadratic forms) and Hermitian polynomials. In the same year, he showed that e, the base of natural logarithms, is transcendental. (Transcendental numbers are real or complex numbers that are not algebraic.)

In 1872 and 1877 Hermite solved the Lamé differential equation, and in 1878 he solved the fifth-degree (quintic) equation of elliptic functions.