As Europe flourished during the Enlightenment, advancing in literacy, math, and science, so, too, did Leonhard Euler's brilliance.
He published over 800 works in his lifetime, and more than half of them were completed after he had gone blind.
Leonhard Euler was born on April 15, 1707, in Basel, Switzerland, to pastor Paul and his wife Margaretha. He spent his early years in the nearby village of Riehen.
Growing up in the quiet countryside is said to have shaped Euler's calm and steady temperament, Enabling him to maintain extraordinary focus and resilience, even after losing his sight.
At the age of seven, he was already studying an advanced algebra textbook far beyond the typical understanding of most children - or even adults - at that time.
At 13, Euler enrolled at the University of Basel, which, like many European universities, admitted students much younger than is typical today.
While the university itself was not particularly prestigious, Euler had the good fortune of being tutored by a brilliant mathematician.
Johann Bernoulli was the leading mathematician of the era. By then, Isaac Newton was in his final years, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz had already passed away.
Although Bernoulli declined to provide private lessons due to his busy schedule, He invited Euler to visit every Saturday afternoon to discuss any challenges he encountered, and Euler was grateful: "… When he resolved one of my objections, ten others at once disappeared, which certainly is the best method of making happy progress in the mathematical sciences." After receiving his bachelor's and master's, he began studying theology, as his father wanted him to become a pastor but Leonhard's heart lay in mathematics.
Bernoulli is said to have visited Paul Euler, his former college classmate, to convince him that his son was a prodigy destined to be his successor.
