Pierre de Fermat
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Pierre de Fermat (August 17, 1601 – January 12, 1665) was a French magistrate. He, however, is most famous for being an amateur mathematician. His name is attached to several results in number theory, such as Fermat's Little Theorem and Fermat's Last Theorem, though he worked in many other areas of mathematics as well.
Biography
Pierre de Fermat was born in the town of Beaumont-deLomagne, in the southerwestern portion of France. His father (named Dominique) was a rich merchant who dealt in leather, and thus Fermat was able to enjoy a formal education. He attended the Franciscan monastery in Grandselve, and then the University of Toulouse. No record shows that he was particularly adept with numbers.
His family urged him to take a career in the civil service, and he complied; being appointed conseiller au Parlement de Toulouse (councilor of the Chamber of Petitions of Toulouse) in 1631. This job entailed hearing locals who wished to petition the king and either approving or declining their requests. Fermat's duties also included enforcing royal decrees; in one sense he was the link between the royal government and the province of Toulouse. He was very efficient in this job, as well as another judiciary career as a magistrate in the side.
This efficiency, as well as a plague that was killing off his superior colleagues (Fermat himself fell ill in 1652; and in fact one of his colleagues announced his death prematurely) enabled him to be promoted rapidly; and he became a minor sort of nobility; permitting him to add "de" to his name. Fermat survived both the plague and the political intrigues common of the era, particularly those relating to Cardinal Richelieu.
Fermat signed his last judicial notice on January 9, 1665, in the town of Castres. He died three days later.
Work
See Also
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