Ferdinand Von Lindemann - Transcendence Proof

Transcendence Proof

In 1882, he published the result for which he is best known, the transcendence of π. His methods were similar to those used nine years earlier by Charles Hermite to show that e, the base of natural logarithms, is transcendental. Before the publication of Lindemann's proof, it was known that if π were transcendental, then the ancient and celebrated problem of squaring the circle by compass and straightedge would be solved in the negative.

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