Jacobi

Abstract

In this chapter we look at the life of Jacobi, and indicate some of the key properties of elliptic functions that he discovered by taking a different route to Abel. Then we look at how he published his work, the correspondence with Legendre, and his major book the Fundamenta nova of 1829. As we shall see, Jacobi also found important and entirely new applications of elliptic function theory to number theory and to geometry.