51. Steen's 1874 paper: historical survey and translation
- Author
-
R. Redheffer
- Subjects
Danish ,Applied Mathematics ,General Mathematics ,language ,Calculus ,Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics ,Injustice ,language.human_language ,Mathematics ,Epistemology - Abstract
A remarkable contribution to the theory of differential equations was made by Adolph Steen in 1874. His results were presented in Danish in a journal containing few articles on mathematics and were wholly ignored by the mathematical community for more than a century. During this time much of his work was rediscovered and extended by numerous authors; in fact the relevant literature embraces five languages in addition to the original Danish and is scattered over correspondingly many countries. In Part I we outline the historical development of Steen's ideas and in Part II we reproduce his pioneering article in an English translation. Though correction of a historical injustice is the primary goal, not everything in his paper has been rediscovered by others. Hence some of the results retain, even at this late date, more than merely historical interest.
- Published
- 2001