Augustin Cauchy, (August 21, 1789 - May 23, 1857) became a civil engineer, but as his interest in engineering waned,...

Augustin Cauchy, (August 21, 1789 - May 23, 1857) became a civil engineer, but as his interest in engineering waned, his interest in mathematics grew, and he went on to become a mathematician. Thanks perhaps to his grounding in technology, Cauchy tackled problems in applied mathematics.
He strengthened the foundations of calculus, developed complex function theory and introduced the stress tensor to elasticity theory, among other contributions. 

Know more:
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Cauchy.html

#history   #physics   #science