Johann Jakob Rebstein
(1840-1907)
Johann Jakob Rebstein (1840–1907) was a Swiss mathematician and surveyor.
Early life
Rebstein was born on 4 May 1840 in Töss, Switzerland, to his father, a baker and his mother, a doctor.
Education and career
Rebstein attended post-secondary school in Winterthur, and after graduating in 1860, went on to study for a year at Collège de France. He was professor of mathematics and physics in Zürich from 1877 to 1898. He was awarded his doctorate in 1895 from the Humboldt University of Berlin for his work Bestimmung aller reellen Minimalflächen, die eine Schaar ebener Curven enthalten, denen auf der Gauss'schen Kugel die Meridiane entsprechen. He is best known for his work in surveying, and for introducing the traverse method in Switzerland. Throughout his career, Rebstein was appointed as surveying expert for a number of cantons, including Thurgau (1863–1881), St. Gallen (1881–1894), Zürich (1886–1892), and Luzern (1894–1907).
In 1868 he was elected to the Swiss Concordat of Geometers, and served as its president from 1887 until his death in 1907.
In 1905 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Zürich, for "outstanding contributions to actuarial sciences".
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