Ludwig Boltzmann, an Austrian physicist and mathematician who won renown for his kinetic theory of gases and his work in statistical mechanics, was born in Vienna on February 20, 1844. A scientist of diverse interests, Boltzmann at one time or another in his career worked in the fields of physics, chemistry, mathematics, philosophy, and aeronautics.

Boltzmann studied at the University of Vienna, earning his doctorate there. He then went on to hold professorships in Graz (1869-73; theoretical physics); Vienna (1873-6; mathematics); Graz (1876-9; experimental physics); Munich (1889-93; theoretical physics); Vienna (1894-1900; theoretical physics); Leipzig (1900-2; theoretical physics); and Vienna (1902-6; theoretical physics). A popular lecturer, Boltzmann counted among his students Hermann Walther Nernst (1864-1941).

When Boltzmann began his career in 1866, major advances were already taking place in the three fields of theoretical physics that he himself would make major contributions to: thermodynamics, the theory of gases, and electromagnetism. It is...