Thomas Clausen (mathematician)
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Thomas Clausen (January 16, 1801 – May 23, 1885) was a Danish mathematician and astronomer, best known for his 1854 discovery of a factor of the sixth Fermat number.
Clausen learned mathematics at home. In 1820, he became a trainee at Munich Optical Institute; in 1824 - at the Altona Observatory. He eventually returned to Munich, where he conceived and published his best known works on mathematics. In 1842 Clausen was hired by the staff of the Tartu Observatory, becoming its director in 1866-1872.
Works by Clausen include studies on the stability of Solar system, comet movement, ABC telegraph code and calculation of 250 decimals of Pi (later, only 248 were confirmed to be correct).
