About
Banker, mathematician, and social reformer, who developed Rodrigues' formula, a formula for the Legendre polynomials.
Before Fame
He earned a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Paris in 1815.
Trivia
His work on transformation groups led to the discovery of quaternions; however, his contributions to mathematics were not recognized until the late 20th century.
Family Life
He was born Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues; he was of upper-class Sephardi Jewish stock, living in Bordeaux.
Associated With
He was an adherent to Comte de Saint-Simon's socialist philosophy, which had a profound influence on Karl Marx.
