Abstract
Several generations of the Mendelssohn family left an indelible imprint on mathematical life in Berlin. Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), whose name is inextricably linked with the history of the Haskalah, worked and published in the fields of philosophy, history and mathematics.1 Between 1755 and 1763, Mendelssohn wrote four texts of historical interest in the field of mathematics. “Über die Empfindungen” [On sentiments] (1755), “Gedanken von der Wahrscheinlichkeit” [Thoughts on probability] (1756), “Versuch, eine vollkommen gleichschwebende Temperatur durch die Construction zu finden” [Attempt to establish equal temperature by geometrical construction] (1761) and “Abhandlung über die Evidenz in Metaphysischen Wissenschaften” [On evidence in metaphysical sciences] (1763).2 Alexander Altmann referred to the paper “Thoughts on Probability” as a “Kaffeehaus-Produkt”, probably because it was read at one of the weekly meetings of the scholarly Kaffeehaus, a society founded in Berlin in 1755.3 Members of this society included mathematician Johann Albrecht Euler (1734–1800) and physicist Franz Ulrich Theodor Aepinus (1724–1802), and Mendelssohn discussed his essay with Aepinus in particular.
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References
Alexander Altmann (1906–1987), Mendelssohn scholar and long-time editor of the anniversary edition of Mendelssohn’s works, was the first to examine Mendelssohn’s mathematical works. His 1973 Mendelssohn biography still ranks as a standard work. See (Altmann 1973).
See (Lausch 1990: 84ff.).
See (Lausch 1990: 84, n. 45).
Altmann wrote a 140-page text to accompany this treatise in the anniversary edition of Mendelssohn’s works. See (Lausch 1990: 86f.).
(Lenz 1910: 379), in volume 2, 1st half. Max Lenz refers primarily to Ernst Eduard Kummer’s (1860) tribute; a selection of letters from the Mendelssohns, particularly those of Fanny and Felix, were available as of 1879 in Sebastian Hensel’s biography of the family.
On Rebecca Dirichlet, see (Hensel 1879); additionally, (Büchter-Römer 2005), (Feilchenfeldt 1979, 1986), (Kühn 1999), (Lausch 1990) and (Richter 1997: 25-28).
On the subject of Jewish salons, see (Hertz 1991).
See (Feilchenfeldt 1979: 72).
Hensel later wrote a family history, see (Hensel 1995), originally published in 1879. Most of the letters have apparently survived.
See (Büchter-Römer 2005: 301–303).
See (Steinschneider 1995: 267–317), exchange of letters between March and October 1848. Following the June 1847 debate in the Prussian parliament on a law that would grant Jews in Prussia partial equality, Moritz Steinschneider had written to Auguste Auerbach, “The parliamentary debates, in which I saw more clearly the wretched condition of humanity — even in the Kingdom of Prussia — did not allow me to share an enthusiasm which my friends also very quickly lost. Some honest men deserve praise as the results do not exactly allow for complaining; but that even a bit of simple reason requires so much theatrical activity is deplorable. For me there has long been no Jewish question, merely a human question.” Moritz Steinschneider to Auguste Auerbach, Berlin, 26 June 1847, in (Steinschneider 1995: 203).
See the letter shortly after her arrival in Gottingen in 1855, in (Kühn 1999: 148).
In (Kühn 1999: 154).
In (Kühn 1999: 154).
See (Feilchenfeldt 1979: 72).
No obituary was published for Kurt Hensel until after the end of the Nazi regime; see (Hasse 1949).
For more on Jewish students at the universities in Berlin and Breslau, see (Richarz 1974).
On mathematics at Berlin University, see the standard works by (Biermann 1988) and (Begehr 1998).
On the selection of mathematicians for the Berlin Academy, see (Biermann 1960).
On the foundations and scholarships at Berlin University, see (Schultz 1994).
See (Biermann 1988).
See (Schultz 1994).
The following overview was compiled largely from materials in (Biermann 1988) and (Begehr 1998).
On Issai Schur, see (Ledermann; Neumann 2003), (Vogt 1999).
Compiled from (Brüning 1998: 23ff.).
On Bierberbach’s denunciation of Schur (20 February 1936), see (Vogt 1999: 226ff.). On the denunciation of doctoral candidate Gabriele Neuhauser, see the documents in Section 7 of this volume.
On Hilda Pollaczek-Geiringer-von Mises, see (Binder 1992, 1995), (Richards 1987), (Siegmund-Schultze 1993b), (Vogt 1994).
Compiled especially from (Biermann 1988) and (Begehr 1998).
See (Vogt 1998).
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Vogt, A. (2012). Berlin. In: Bergmann, B., Epple, M., Ungar, R. (eds) Transcending Tradition. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22464-5_4
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