1704-1752

Swiss Mathematician

The name Gabriel Cramer is associated with Cramer's rule and Cramer's paradox, as well as with the introduction of the concept of utility to mathematics. Yet perhaps Cramer's greatest contributions to learning emerged from his support of other talented contemporaries, specifically in his work as editor of their writings.

Gabriel Cramer. (The Granger Collection, Ltd. Reproduced with permission.)

Born in Geneva on July 31, 1704, Cramer was the son of Jean, a physician, and Anne Mallet Cramer. He came from a family of three brothers, one of whom became a doctor and the other a professor of law. By the age of 18, Cramer had earned his doctorate with a dissertation on the qualities of sound, and two years later was appointed co-chair of mathematics at the Académie de la Rive. He shared both the position and the salary with Giovanni Ludovico Calandrini, and the...