Ferdinand Eisenstein

Ferdinand Gotthold Max Eisenstein (April 16, 1823 - October 11, 1852) was a German mathematician. Like Galois and Abel before him, Eisenstein died before the age of 30. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. He studied at the Berlin University, where Peter Gustav Dirichlet was his teacher.

In 1844 he published two proofs of the law of quadratic reciprocity, and the analogous laws of cubic reciprocity and quartic (biquadratic) reciprocity. Four years later he was imprisoned briefly by the Prussian army for his revolutionary activities in Berlin.

Gauss is said to have claimed, "There have been only three epoch-making mathematicians: Archimedes, Newton, and Eisenstein". Gauss's choice of Eisenstein, who specialized in number theory and analysis, may seem puzzling to many, but Eisenstein proved several results that even eluded Gauss, such as the theorem on biquadratic reciprocity.