Wenceslaus Johann Gustav Karsten | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 17 April 1787 | (aged 54)
Nationality | German |
Alma mater | University of Rostock |
Known for | Complex logarithms |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics |
Institutions | University of Halle |
Wenceslaus Johann Gustav Karsten (15 December 1732 – 17 April 1787) was a German mathematician. In 1768, Karsten published a graphic representation of infinitely many logarithms of real and complex numbers. He was a professor of Mathematics at the Universities of Rostock, Bützow and Halle.
He was born Neubrandenburg but grew up with his grandfather in Güstrow where he attended high school.[1] From 1750, he studied theology at the Universities in Rostock and Jena but also heard lectures on mathematics and philosophy.[1] In 1754, he returned to Güstrow with the aim to become a priest.[1] As he heard the University of Rostock was in need of a mathematician, he returned to the University of Rostock and also graduated in mathematics in February 1755.[1] The same year, he lectured on mathematics at the same University.[1] Not satisfied with his salary, he unsuccessfully applied as a teacher at high schools in Hamburg and Stettin.[1] After in 1758 the professor of logic Johann Ludwig Engel died, he was able to succeed him.[1]
In 1760, after a dispute between Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the University of the appointment of a new professor of theology, lead the former to establish a new University in Bützow.[2] Karsten, who was paid by the Duke, had to teach at the new University.[1] Again, his financial situation was not as wished, and in 1763 Karsten wrote to Johann Euler, a son of Leonhard Euler, that he would like to become a lecturer in Saint Petersburg.[3] In 1764, he was offered an employment at the University of Helmstedt.[3] Still teaching at Bützow, he also received a call to Saint Petersburg in 1765.[3] But after the Duke raised his salary significantly, Karsten turned both job offers down and stayed at Bützow.[3] In 1778, after the death of Johann Andreas Segner, a Professor at the University of Halle, Karsten became Segners successor.[3] In Halle, he turned his interest to the natural sciences and chemistry.[4] In 1783, his assistant became Friedrich Albrecht Carl Gren, who would later become a prominent figure in the field of chemistry.[5] Karsten is credited with raising chemistry to an equally accepted department beside the physics at the universities.[4] Karsten died in 1787.[4]