Click the picture above
to see six larger pictures
| Previous | (Chronologically) | Next | Main Index |
| Previous | (Alphabetically) | Next | Biographies index |
| Version for printing |
The parents of Jurij Vega (Georg is the German version of his name)were poor farmers, his father dying when Jurij was 6 years old. He attended school in Ljubljana until the age of 19 when he became a navigational engineer. He entered military service in 1780 as professor of mathematics at the Artillery School in Vienna. He was a talented teacher and writer, with a great skill as a calculator.
Vega wrote on artillery but he is best remembered for his tables of logarithms and trigonometric functions. His seven figure log tables were based on those of Vlacq and were famed for their accuracy. The calculations were done with the help of soldiers who were given a gold ducat for every mistake they found. His first book of logarithms appeared in 1783. The tables Thesaurus logarithmorum completus appeared in 1794 and the 90th edition appeared in 1924.
Vega wrote a four volume textbook Vorlesungen über die Mathematik (1782, 1784, 1788, 1800). This book also contains trigonometric tables.
Vega calculated π to 140 places, a record which stood for over 50 years. This appears in a paper which he published in 1789.
As a military man Vega was involved in several wars. In 1788 he fought against the Turks at a battle near Belgrade commanding gun positions. He also fought against the French at many battles in this time of revolution and wars in Europe.
In September 1802 Jurij Vega was reported missing. A search was unsuccessful until his body was found in the Danube near Vienna. The official cause of death was an accident but many suspect that he was murdered.
The picture displayed is from a Slovenian 50 Tolar bank note issued in his honour. A Slovenian stamp has also been issued to honour him.
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
|
List of References (4 books/articles)
| |
| A Poster of Georg Vega | Mathematicians born in the same country
|
| Honours awarded to Georg Vega (Click below for those honoured in this way) | |
| Lunar features | Crater Vega |
Cross-references in MacTutor
|
Other Web sites | |
