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"The University of Berlin had been greatly influenced by the successful French research institutes, such as the Ecole Polytechnique, that had been founded by Napoleon. It had, after all, been founded during the French occupation. One of the key mathematical ambassadors was a brilliant mathematician by the name of Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet. Although he was born in Germany in 1805, Dirichlets family was of French origin. A return to his roots took him to Paris in 1822, where he spent five years soaking up the intellectual activity that was bubbling out of the academies. Wilhelm von Humboldts brother Alexander, an amateur scientist, met Dirichlet on his travels and was so impressed that he secured him a position back in Germany. Dirichlet was something of a rebel. Perhaps the atmosphere on the streets in Paris had given him a taste for challenging authority. In Berlin, he was quite happy to ignore some of the antiquated traditions demanded by the rather stuffy university authorities, and often flouted their demands to demonstrate his command of the Latin language."
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Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
