Louis François Antoine Arbogast made a threefold contribution to mathematics. He is primarily known as a mathematics historian who organized Marin Mersenne's papers, as well as letters and miscellany of other scientists. Arbogast was also a noteworthy mathematician in his own right; he did the earliest work in discontinuous fractions and predated some developments in calculus. He also participated in local politics (including the Commune of Strasbourg) and was influential in the development of certain schools and their curriculums in the 1790s.

Much of Arbogast's early life and education is unclear other than his date of birth, October 4, 1759 in Mutzig, Alsace. It is known that in 1780, he was listed as a lawyer in Alsace, and he also taught mathematics at the Collège de Colmar in 1787. Arbogast's life becomes more documented after moving to Strasbourg, France, in 1789. In that same year, he became a...