Vandermonde, Alexandre-Théophile (1735–1796)

French musician and musical theorist who wrote original and influential papers on algebraic equations and determinants.

Vandermonde was born in Paris. He played a part in the founding of the Conservatoire des Arts et des Métiers and served as its director after 1782.

Vandermonde wrote four mathematical papers, all between 1771 and 1773. The first considered the solvability of algebraic equations. He found formulas for solving general quadratic equations, cubic equations, and quartic equations. In addition he found the solution to the equation:

x11 − 1 = 0

and stated, without giving a proof, that:

xn − 1 = 0

must have a solution where n is a prime number.

The second and third papers are less important; the fourth paper is controversial, and includes the Vandermonde determinant.