Joseph-Louis Lagrange

Lagrange was the eldest of their 11 children but one of only two to live to adulthood.Lagrange sent Euler his results on the tautochrone containing his method of maxima and minima.The papers by Lagrange which appear in these transactions cover a variety of topics.D'Alembert was upset that a mathematician as fine as Lagrange did not receive more honour.Just under a year from the time he arrived in Berlin, Lagrange married his cousin Vittoria Conti.She died in 1783 after years of illness and Lagrange was very depressed.Three years later Frederick II died and Lagrange's position in Berlin became a less happy one.The Mcanique analytique which Lagrange had written in Berlin, was published in 1788.With this work Lagrange transformed mechanics into a branch of mathematical analysis.Lagrange taught courses on elementary mathematics there.