When did Carl Friedrich Gauss live?
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (/ɡaʊs/; German: Gauß [ˈkaɐ̯l ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈɡaʊs](listen);[1][2] Latin: Carolus Fridericus Gauss; (30 April 1777–23 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and sciences.[3] Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum[4] (Latinfor "the foremost of mathematicians") and "the greatest mathematician since antiquity", Gauss had an exceptional influence in many fields of mathematics and science, and is ranked among history's most influential mathematicians.[5]
Triangular number
In 1796, German mathematician and scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss discovered that every positive integer is representable as a sum of three triangular numbers (possibly including = 0), writing in his diary his famous words, "ΕΥΡΗΚΑ! ". Note that this theorem does not imply that the triangular numbers are different (as in the case of 20 = 10 + 10 + 0), nor that a solution with exactly three nonzero triangular numbers must exist. This is a special case of the Fermat polygonal number theorem.