Aus den wissenschaftlichen anfängen hermann minkowskis

AbstractThe inspiration and core of this paper is a previously unknown letter from H. Weber to R. Dedekind, which sheds information on Hermann Minkowski's mathematical studies and investigations while he was still a student. The article begins with descriptions of the Gymnasium that Minkowski attended at Königsberg, and his teachers there. Minkowski's first introduction to higher mathematics is studied, along with his arithmetical investigations before he composed the memoir submitted for the Prize of the Academy of Paris in 1883. After observations on Minkowski's studies at the University of Königsberg, the polemics surrounding his prize from the Paris Academy are discussed, taking into consideration new documents which are quoted in the text