Julius Plücker, Familie und Studienjahre.

Abstract

This paper addresses the early education and training of the young Julius Plücker (1801–1868) as mathematician in early 19th century Germany. Plücker received his PhD 1824 at the University of Marburg and became the chair of Mathematics at the University of Bonn in 1835. He was born into a successful and rich German merchant family. His social background and connections helped him in his early academic career and gave him a distinct advantage over his fellow student Jakob Steiner (1796–1863). The personal and social differences may therefore have been the underlying reason for the hostility and lifelong rift between these two famous mathematicians of the 19th century. The paper describes not only the impact of the social connections in German academia, but argues that those provide an explanation for the reason and circumstances of Plücker obtaining his PhD in Marburg, a university that he had never visited before.