Gabriel Judah Lichtenfeld
Encyclopedia
Gabriel Judah Lichtenfeld was a Polish
mathematician
and author
. He was born in Lublin
in 1811 and died at Warsaw
on March 22, 1887. He was a descendant of Moses Isserles
, and, true to the family tradition, showed early ability as a Talmud
ic scholar. He later became familiar with Latin
, German
, French
, and Polish
, and made a special study of philosophy
and mathematics.
In the Hebrew periodical "Ha-Shachar" (The Dawn), vol. iii. et seq., there appeared a series of Hebrew articles by Lichtenfeld which attracted attention. His reputation was enhanced by his series of articles, in the Polish periodical "Izraelita," on Jewish mathematicians. Lichtenfeld is known also by his polemics with Slonimski on mathematical subjects.
Lichtenfeld was the author of: "Yedi'ot ha-Shi'urim" (Warsaw, 1865); "Tzofnat Pa'neach" (ib. 1874), a critical review of S. Slonimski's "Yesode Ḥokmat ha-Shi'ur"; "Tosefot" (ib. 1875), polemic against S. Slonimski; "Kohen Lelo Elohim" (ib. 1876), mathematical criticisms; "Sippurim be-Shir," etc. (ib. 1877), a collection of poems and rimed prose by himself and by his son-in-law Leon Peretz.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was born in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
in 1811 and died at Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
on March 22, 1887. He was a descendant of Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles, also spelled Moshe Isserlis, , was an eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha , entitled ha-Mapah , an inline commentary on the Shulkhan Aruch...
, and, true to the family tradition, showed early ability as a Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic scholar. He later became familiar with Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, and made a special study of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and mathematics.
In the Hebrew periodical "Ha-Shachar" (The Dawn), vol. iii. et seq., there appeared a series of Hebrew articles by Lichtenfeld which attracted attention. His reputation was enhanced by his series of articles, in the Polish periodical "Izraelita," on Jewish mathematicians. Lichtenfeld is known also by his polemics with Slonimski on mathematical subjects.
Lichtenfeld was the author of: "Yedi'ot ha-Shi'urim" (Warsaw, 1865); "Tzofnat Pa'neach" (ib. 1874), a critical review of S. Slonimski's "Yesode Ḥokmat ha-Shi'ur"; "Tosefot" (ib. 1875), polemic against S. Slonimski; "Kohen Lelo Elohim" (ib. 1876), mathematical criticisms; "Sippurim be-Shir," etc. (ib. 1877), a collection of poems and rimed prose by himself and by his son-in-law Leon Peretz.