The Bernoulli Family: Dung (Yom) Bui, Mohamed Allali, and their intense animosity against one

another despite their enormous contributions to mathematics

Synopsis Throughout mathematical history, a number of people have made important contributions. On
the other hand, when it comes to the quantity of mathematicians and their impact on the advancement
of mathematics, the Bernoulli family likely outperforms all others in this regard. The three most notable
Bernoulli mathematicians are Jacob I. Bernoulli (1654–1705), Johann I. Bernoulli (1667–1748), and
Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782). Despite being fiercely competitive, these three were the most important
math specialists in the academic world. Their enormous contributions to mathematics may have been
fueled by their jealously of one another and their family arrangement.
Jacob Bernoulli (1654-1705) –
Despite the lack of a family history, Nicholas Bernoulli's eldest son was the first in the family to be
acknowledged as a powerful and renowned mathematician. Although he detested it, his parents had
him study philosophy and theology, and in 1676 he graduated with a degree in theology. Following his
graduation from theology school, Bernoulli settled in Geneva and began working as a tutor. After that,
he moved to France where he studied with Descartes' adherents for two years. After visiting the
Netherlands and England in 1681, Bernoulli met a number of mathematicians, including renowned
scientists Robert Hooke (1635–1703) and Robert Boyle (1627–1691). Through his travels, Bernoulli
established a long-lasting relationship with several mathematicians. In spite of his father's disapproval,
he became interested in mathematics and astronomy since he was so fascinated by these subjects. After
his return to Switzerland, Jacob Bernoulli began working as a mechanics professor at the University of
Basel in 1683. Despite having a theology degree and being offered a position in the Church, he declined
it. The subjects that Bernoulli truly loved to teach and study were mathematics and theoretical physics
(2–5). Between 1682 and 1704, Bernoulli wrote five treatises on infinite series. Many discoveries were
found in the first two of these, including the basic discovery that S(1/n) diverges, which Mengoli had
established 40 years previously and which Bernoulli thought was new. In May 1690, Jacob Bernoulli
demonstrated that the isochrones problem is equal to solving a first-order nonlinear differential
equation in a paper published in Act Eruditorum, the oldest scientific journal that started publication in
1682 under the direction of Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716). The curve along which a particle will fall
under gravity from any point to the bottom in precisely the same amount of time, regardless of where it
starts on the curve, is known as the isochrones, or curve of constant descent. Leibniz investigated it in
1689, and Huygens in 1687. The phrase "integral calculus" was initially used by mathematician Jacob
Bernoulli in this same publication. Leibniz had previously referred to it as "Calculus fumatorium." One of
the issues that greatly excited mathematicians following the development of calculus was the Catenary
problem. The Latin word "catena," which meaning chain, is whence the term "catenary" originates. As
Jacob stated, "And now let this problem be proposed: To find the curve assumed by a loose string hung
freely from two fixed points" in the May 1690 edition of "Acta Eruditorum". Galileo (1564–1642) had
already tackled this issue and incorrectly deduced that the curve would be a parabola. Christian Huygens
(1629-1695), who was sixteen at the time, demonstrated that the curve could not be a parabola in 1646.
Three accurate answers to the problem were published in the June 1691 issue of "Acta Eruditorum," one
year after it first appeared. Huygens, Leibniz, and Johann Bernoulli—Jacob's younger brother—provided
the three answers. Despite taking three distinct approaches to the problem, they all came to the same
conclusion—that the curve would be a catenary.
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