Bertrand

Joseph Louis François Bertrand (1822--1900)


A mathematician and celestial mechanic of the 19th century, known for his careless errors, disorganization, and elegant literary style. He did prove, presumably sans erreurs, Bertrand's theorem (Bertrand, J. L. F., 1873, Comptes Rendus, 77, 849--853) that posits that the only force laws that yield closed bound orbits for a continuum of radii and arbitrary energy and angular momentum are the inverse-square law and the linear force.

Sites

  1. Bertrand The St. Andrews History of Mathematics Archive biography.
Images

I obtained the images from the St. Andrews History of Mathematics Archive. The Archive believes all its images are public domain. Certainly, the original copyright on these images is expired. But maybe someone owns the web copyright. If anyone feels that I should not be displaying these images, please let me know and I will resolve the matter.

  1. Bertrand, the professor
  2. Bertrand as 19th century worthy