1848-1925

German Mmathematician and Philosopher

Gottlob Frege, a philosopher of mathematics and a mathematician in the realm of philosophy, was the founder of modern mathematical logic and one of the most important figures in the histories of logic, mathematics, and the philosophy of mathematics. Frege also helped to shape the discipline of the philosophy of language and influenced, among others, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) and J. L. Austin.

Frege was born November 8, 1848, in Wismar, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in what is now eastern Germany. His father, Alexander Frege, a high school principal in Wismar, died when Gottlob was 18. Three years later, in 1869, Frege became a student at the University of Jena, but after two years went on to the University of Göttingen, where he studied mathematics, philosophy, and the physical sciences. In 1871 he returned to Jena to become a lecturer and was promoted first to...