Episode 1 of 2

Intellectual Origins

When: 1795–1798
Where: Collegium Carolinum (Brunswick) and University of Göttingen
Part of: Gauss publishes Disquisitiones Arithmeticae

Ideas for the Disquisitiones originated during Gauss's studies at the Collegium Carolinum and University of Göttingen.

Gauss began his work on number theory in 1795. He attended the Collegium Carolinum from 1792 to 1795, supported by the Duke of Brunswick, and later studied at the University of Göttingen until 1798. His mathematical diary from 1796 to 1814 reveals that many ideas for the Disquisitiones originated during this period.

Sources

Carl Friedrich Gauss Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26

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