Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz ( 1646 - 1716 )

Birth: Leipzig, Germany (? 21 June 1646) Death: Hanover, Germany (14 November 1716) Profession: Civil servant Research field: Mathematics, philosophy, metaphysics Education: Nicolai School; Leipzig (admitted 1661); Jena (admitted 1663); Altdorf; LLD (1666) Career: Employed by the Elector Johann Philipp von Schonborn of Mainz as an adviser on legal matters (1667); began work on his calculating machine (1671); went on a diplomatic missions to Paris (1672) and London (1673); on the death of the Elector, went to Paris, hoping for a post at the Academie des Sciences, but was disappointed; visited Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (FRS 1680); Adviser and Librarian to the Duke of Hannover (1676); Councillor at the Court of Hannover (1679); travelled through Germany and Italy in order to prepare a genealogy of the house of Brunswick and visited Vincenzo Viviani (FRS 1696) in Florence and Marcello Malpighi (FRS 1665) in Bologna (1687-1689); Privy Councillor in Hannover; in the service of Sophia Charlotte, Electress of Brandenburg (1700); involved in a dispute about calculus with Isaac Newton (FRS 1672), in which he was accused of plagiarism, a charge which was upheld by a commission of the Royal Society (1712); Privy Councillor to Peter the Great of Russia (1712); Imperial Privy Councillor at Vienna (1712-1714); returned to Hannover and unsuccessfully petitioned the Elector, now George I of Great Britain, for a post (1714) Memberships: Accademia Fisico-matematica, Rome; Berlin Academy (1700, Founder and President for life) Fellowship: Fellow Election date: 9/04/1673 Proposers: Sir Robert Moray.