Edouard Lucas

    Edouard Lucas is a mathematician who was a pioneer in number theory. He specialized in the Fibbonacci numbers, and created an equation for generating them: 5 f_n = ((1 + 5)/2)ⁿ - ((1 - 5)/2)ⁿ. He also devised ways to prove whether or not a number is prime. With this method, he discovered the largest prime found without a calculator:2¹²⁷ - 1 (170141183460469231731687303715884105726). His methods are still used today.

    Edouard wnt to school at École Normale in Amiens. Afterwards, he worked at the Paris Observatory. Edouard Lucas was also an artillery officer in the Franco-Prussian War. After that, he became a mathematics teacher at two different schools. One of his final achievements was the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, created under the pseudonym of M. Claus (Claus is an anagram of Lucas.)

    Edouard Lucas died in a way that must have been the polar opposite of noble. He was at a banquet, and a plate was dropped. A shard flew up and cut his cheek. He suffered from erysipelas (a bacterial skin infection which affects the arms, legs and face,) a few days later and died.