Skip to main content
3 of 3
added 264 characters in body
Joseph O'Rourke
  • 150.9k
  • 36
  • 358
  • 958

Gauss-Bonnet Theorem: Neither Gauss nor Bonnet

Tristan Needham says (p.174),*

"While Gauss and Bonnet certainly paved the road to [the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem], neither one of them was even aware of this extraordinary result, let alone stated it!"

Needham assigns the honor to Leopold Kronecker and Walther von Dyck.

(Added). By "the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem," Neeham means $$\mathcal{K}(S_g) = 4 \pi (1-g) = 2 \pi \chi(S_g)$$ where $S_g$ is a closed, orientable surface of genus $g$, $\mathcal{K}(S_g)$ is its total curvature, and $\chi(S_g)$ is its Euler characteristic.

My question is:

Q. Is Needham's recounting historically accurate?



* Needham, Tristan. Visual Differential Geometry and Forms. Princeton University Press, 2021.

Joseph O'Rourke
  • 150.9k
  • 36
  • 358
  • 958