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Paul Mansion

Belgian mathematician (1844–1919)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ3371764
Source-derived summary

Paul Mansion (3 June 1844 – 16 April 1919) was a Belgian mathematician, editor of the journal Mathesis.

Life and work

Mansion was the ninth of ten brothers. His father died when he was only a baby and he was brought up by his mother and his older brothers. He studied at Huy school and high school. In 1862 he entered in the École Normale des Sciences, attached to the University of Ghent, where he graduated in 1865. From this time till 1867 he taught mathematics in the artillery academy in Ghent, while he was working in his doctoral thesis. He was awarded PhD in 1867.

In 1867, after the death of his professor Mathias Schaar, he was appointed to the chair of calculus at the university of Ghent. He remained there until he was appointed to the chair of probability in 1892. Also, from 1884, he taught the history of mathematics.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Paul Mansion” is belgian mathematician (1844–1919). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Paul, Mansion and Belgian, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1844, 1919, 1862, 1865—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1844-06-03, 1844—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. For this dossier, Paul, Mansion and Belgian is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “belgian mathematician (1844–1919)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3371764. VIAF identifies the subject as 52449246. The Library of Congress control number is n89655411. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1844, 1919, 1862 and 1865.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Paul Mansion”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Paul Mansion primary sources, Paul Mansion archive and Paul research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Paul Mansion”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Paul Mansion” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.