Jules Poincare
April 29, 1854 - July 17, 1912
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Membership Type:
International Member
(elected 1898)
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French mathematician Jules-Henri Poincaré was a leader in virtually every field that existed in his lifetime and is known as the “last universalist.” He made many contributions to theoretical physics as well as to pure and applied mathematics, and he founded the field of modern combinational topology. His most notable work was with celestial mechanics, approximately solving the three-body problem to prove the solar system’s stability. He also independently conducted work on Einstein’s special theory of relativity, obtaining Einstein’s results. A philosopher of science, he wrote Science and Hypothesis in 1905, outlining his idea for the conventionalism of science. He believed that the higher laws of science exist for convenience, rather than for truth.
