When doing complex calculations in school, we have fond memories of using a calculator. The credit for this goes to Gottfried Leibniz. Gottfried Leibniz was a renowned German polymath, known as the last ‘universal genius’. He made significant contributions to the realms of metaphysics, logic, philosophy of religion, mathematics, physics, geology, jurisprudence, and history. At the young age of six, he was given access to his father’s library, due to his intense desire for philosophical learning.
The University of Leipzig denied him a doctorate in law in 1666, because of his young age, prompting him to leave the German city. His thesis, De casibus perplexis in jure, was accepted by the University of Altdorf, and he was offered a position of professor, which he declined. His first job was as a salaried secretary at an alchemical society in Nuremberg. In 1669, he was appointed assessor in the Court of Appeal. In 1672, Leibniz went to Paris where he met the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, under whom he started exploring the fields of Mathematics and Physics. His major works in mathematics were the development of Differential and Integral Calculus.
Leibniz’s works on Differential Calculus was published nine years before that of Isaac Newton. Scholars are, however, of the opinion that each discovered the methods independently. Leibniz went on to invent the pinwheel calculator in 1685, which could multiply, divide and extract roots, while the calculator invented by Blaise Pascal could only manage addition and subtraction. Leibniz moved to Hanover in 1676, after a short trip to London. While in Hanover, he delved into geology and numismatics, by writing on the topic of development of mining in the Harz Mountains. He began promoting the project to utilise windmills to enhance the mining operations. However, the project was shut by Duke Ernst August in 1685.
Leibniz travelled far and wide after he was commissioned to write a history of the House of Brunswick. He travelled throughout Germany, Austria, and Italy. But he could never complete the project. He was appointed the Librarian of Herzog August Library in Wolfenbuttel in 1691. Leibniz passed away in Hanover in 1716. Although he is known as the Father of German Philosophy, the majority of his work is in French.