Gauss, Karl Friedrich -

(1777-1855): German mathematician and astronomer at the observatory in Göttingen. Sometimes called the "Prince of Mathematics," he is considered along with Newton, Euclid and Archimedes to be one of the great mathematicians of all time. His major work, Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, was published in 1801. He invented mathematical statistics (i.e. Gaussian distribution and Gaussian error calculation) as well as making contributions to the science of geomagnetism and planetary motions. Much of his work remained unpublished during his lifetime and was later rediscovered in the later 19^th century.