424 years ago today, on August 17, 1601 (the twentieth day of the seventh lunar month), the French mathematician Fermat was born.

Pierre de Fermat was a French mathematician who was born on August 17, 1601 in Beaumont de Lomagne, near Toulouse in southern France. His father, Dominica Fermat, was the king of amateur mathematicians when he opened a large leather shop and owned a considerable industry. Fermat grew up in a wealthy and comfortable environment.

Fermat's father was well respected for his wealth and good management, which earned him the title of local affairs advisor, but Fermat did not feel much superiority when he was young because of the wealth of his family. Fermat's mother was named Clare de Rogue, who was born into a robed nobleman. Dominica's wealth and Rogue's nobleman built Fermat's extremely wealthy status.

Fermat was educated by his uncle Pierre as a child, and received a good enlightenment, which cultivated his wide range of interests and hobbies, which also had an important influence on his character. It was not until the age of 14 that Fermat entered the school of Beaumont de Lomagne, and after graduation he studied law at the University of Orleans and the University of Toulouse.

In France in the 17th century, the most important profession for men was to be lawyers. Therefore, it became fashionable and admirable for men to learn law. Interestingly, France has created good conditions for those "would-be lawyers" who are rich but lack qualifications to become lawyers as soon as possible. In 1523, Françeva I organized and established an agency specialized in selling official titles and publicly selling official positions. Once this social phenomenon of the sale of official positions emerged, it became uncontrollable in response to the needs of the times and remains dying today.

The sale of official positions, on the one hand, catered to the wealthy, enabling them to obtain official positions and thus improve their social status, and on the other hand, it also improved the financial situation of the government. Therefore, by the 17th century, any official position except court officials and military officers could be bought and sold. To this day, the positions of court clerks, notaries, communicators, etc. have not been completely freed from the nature of buying and selling. The French specialties of buying officials have benefited many middle classes, and Fermat is no exception. Fermat had not yet graduated from university, so he bought the positions of "lawyer" and "senator" at Beaumont de Lomagne. When Fermat graduated and returned to his hometown, he easily became a member of the Parliament of Toulouse in 1631. [Today in History]

Although Fermat did not lose his official position until his death, and he was promoted year by year, it is recorded that Fermat had no political achievements, and his ability to handle officialdom was very ordinary, let alone leadership skills. However, Fermat did not stop his promotion. After seven years as a member of the local council, Fermat was promoted to the position of investigating senator, which has the power to investigate and question the executive authority.

In 1642, there was an authoritative figure named Blias, who was an adviser to the Supreme Court. Brias recommended Fermat to enter the Supreme Criminal Court and the Main Court of the French Supreme Court, which gave Fermat better promotion opportunities in the future. In 1646, Fermat was promoted to chief speaker of Parliament and later served as chairman of the Catholic League. Fermat's official career had no outstanding achievements worthy of praise, but Fermat never used his power to extort people, never took bribes, was honest, open and honest, and won people's trust and praise.

Fermat's marriage placed Fermat among the ranks of robed aristocrats, and Fermat married his uncle and cousin, Louise de Rogue. Fermat, who was originally proud of his mother's aristocratic blood, now simply added the symbol "de" of the aristocratic surname to his name.

Fermat had three daughters and two boys. Except for his eldest daughter, Clare, who was married, all four children made Fermat feel respectable. Two daughters became priests, and the second son became vicar of Fimares. In particular, the eldest son, Clemant Samour, not only inherited Fermat's public office and became a lawyer in 1665, but also compiled Fermat's mathematical treatises. If Fermat's eldest son had not actively published Fermat's mathematical works, it would be difficult to say that Fermat could have such a significant impact on mathematics, because most of the papers were published by Fermat's eldest son after his death. In this sense, Samour can also be regarded as the heir to Fermat's cause.

For Fermat, the real business was scholarship, especially mathematics. Fermat was fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Greek, and he was well-researched. This knowledge of languages provided Fermat with the language tools and conveniences for his mathematical studies, enabling him to learn and understand Arabic and Italian algebra, as well as ancient Greek mathematics. This may have provided a good foundation for Fermat's mathematical attainments. In mathematics, Fermat could not only roam freely in the mathematical kingdom, but also stand outside the mathematical world and have a bird's-eye view of mathematics. This cannot be definitely attributed to his mathematical talent, but also has something to do with his erudition.

Fermat was introverted by nature, modest and quiet, and he was not good at selling himself and showing himself. Therefore, he rarely published his treatises during his lifetime, not even a complete book. Some of his published articles were always anonymous. The Collections of Mathematics was published by Fermat's eldest son after his death. We have long recognized the importance of temporality to science, and even in the 17th century, this problem was prominent. The failure of Fermat's mathematical research to be published in a timely manner and to be disseminated and developed was not entirely a personal loss of reputation, but affected the progress of mathematics in that era.

Fermat was healthy all his life, but nearly died in the plague of 1652. After New Year's Day 1665, Fermat began to feel a change in his body, so he was suspended on January 10. On the third day, Fermat died. Fermat was buried in Castres Cemetery, and later in the family cemetery in Toulouse.

Fermat never received a special education in mathematics in his life, and mathematical research was only an amateur hobby. However, no mathematician in 17th century France could match him: he was one of the inventors of analytical geometry; his contribution to the birth of calculus was second only to Newton, Leibniz, the main founder of probability theory, and the man who owned the world of number theory in the 17th century. In addition, Fermat also made important contributions to physics. Fermat, a generation of mathematicians, can be regarded as the greatest mathematician in 17th century France.

The beginning of the 17th century heralded a rather spectacular mathematical future. In fact, this century is also a glorious era in the history of mathematics. Geometry first became the most eye-catching pearl of this era. Due to the application of the new method of geometry - algebraic method in geometry, it directly led to the birth of analytic geometry. Projective geometry as a new method opened up a new field. The introduction of the polar segmentation method caused by the ancient quadrature problem into geometry gave geometry a new research direction and eventually promoted the invention of calculus. The re-emergence of geometry is inseparable from a generation of thinking and creative mathematicians, Fermat is one of them.