Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz' restless intellect ranged from mathematics, physics and engineering to politics, linguistics, economics, law and religion. He is best known for his contributions in metaphysicsand logic, and for his invention, independent of Isaac Newton, of differential and integral calculus, which is an indispensable mathematical tool. Leibniz received his doctoral degree when he was 19 years old, declined an early offer of an academic career, and became a lifelong employee of noblemen. Although he had met and corresponded with many influential and learned men, his death was marked by indifference. A nationalistic debate over priority in developing the calculus during Leibniz's lifetime resulted in a century-long rift between English and continental mathematics.

Leibniz was born in Leipzig, Saxony (now Germany), on July 1, 1646, four years after the birth of Newton. His father, Friedrich Leibnütz, was a lawyer and professor of moral philosophy at the University of Leipzig...