Enrico BettiBorn 21 Oct 1823; died 11 Aug 1892 at age 68.Italian mathematician who is noted for his contributions to algebra and topology. His early work is in the area of equations and algebra. He wrote the first rigorous exposition of the theory of equations, previously given without proofs, developed by the noted French mathematician Évariste Galois (1811-32). Betti extended and gave proofs relating to the algebraic concepts of Galois, published in several works from 1851. Betti thus made an important contribution to the transition from classical to modern algebra. He was the first to give a proof that the Galois group is closed under multiplication. Betti also wrote a pioneering memoir on topology, the study of surfaces and space. Betti did important work in theoretical physics, in particular in potential theory and elasticity. |
