Joseph Diez Gergonne
(Nancy, France: 19th June 1771 – Montpellier, France: 4th May 1859)
Joseph Diez Gergonne was a French mathematician and logician specializing in geometry. In 1791, he enlisted in the French army as a captain. In 1795, he took up the chair of transcendental mathematics at the new École centrale.
In 1810, he founded his own journal on mathematics named Annales de mathématiques pures et appliquées aka Annales de Gergonne. There, he published almost 200 articles by himself.
In 1813, he analyzed a mathematical card trick called the "27 Card Trick", generalized it, and explained the underlying mathematics.
In 1816, he was appointed the chair of astronomy at the University of Montpellier, and in 1830, he assumed the Rector position. He retired in 1844.
Coauthors: Chris Wasshuber
