Karl WeierstrassArticle Free Pass Karl Weierstrass, in full Karl
Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (born Oct. 31, 1815, Ostenfelde,
Bavaria [Germany]—died Feb. 19, 1897, Berlin), German
mathematician, one of the founders of the modern theory of
functions. His domineering father sent him to the University of
Bonn at age 19 to study law and finance in preparation for a
position in the Prussian civil service. Weierstrass pursued four
years of intensive fencing and drinking and returned home with
no degree. He then entered the Academy of Münster in 1839 to
prepare for a career as a secondary school teacher. At Münster
he came under the influence of Cristof Gudermann, professor of
mathematics, who was particularly interested in the theory of
elliptic functions. Gudermann cultivated Weierstrass’s interest
in the theory of functions with emphasis on the expansion of
functions by power series. In 1841 Weierstrass obtained his
teacher’s certificate and began a 14-year career as a teacher of
mathematics at the Pro-Gymnasium