Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin
Encyclopedia
Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin (Иван Михеевич Первушин) (January 21, 1827 – June 29, 1900) was an important Russia
n mathematician
of the 2nd half of 19th century.
Pervushin was born in the town of Lysva
of the Perm
gubernia to a family of a clergy
man. He graduated from Kazan clerical academy in 1852. Upon graduation, Pervushin was required to become a priest; he stayed for some time in Perm, then moved to a remote village of Zamaraevo, some 150 miles from Ekaterinburg, where he lived for 25 years.
The Priest's job provided for Pervushin's life and left him plenty of free time to spend on mathematics
. Pervushin was particularly interested in number theory
. In 1877 and in the beginning of 1878 he presented two papers to the Russian Academy of Sciences
. In these papers, he proved that the 12th and 23rd Fermat numbers are composite:
is divisible by 
and
is divisible by 
In 1883 Pervushin demonstrated that the number:
= 2305843009213693951
is a Mersenne prime
. This number became known as "Pervushin's number", and remained the second largest known prime (after
, proved prime by Lucas
7 years earlier) until 1911, when Powers
proved that
is prime.
From Zamaraevo, Pervushin moved to the nearby town of Shadrinsk
in 1883. Here Pervushin published an article that ridiculed the local government. As a punishment, he was exiled to the village of Mehonskoe in 1887.
A contemporary of Pervushin's, writer A.D.Nosilov, who frequently visited Pervushin in Mehonskoe, wrote a paper "Priest-mathematician", which was published in the "New time" magazine on July 6, 1896.
He wrote: "... this is the modest unknown worker of science ... All of his spacious study is filled up with the different mathematical books, ... here are the books of famous mathematicians: Chebyshev, Legendre
, Riemann; not including all modern mathematical publications, which were sent to him by Russian and foreign scientific and mathematical societies. It seemed I was not in a study of the village priest, but in a study of an old mathematics professor ... Besides being a mathematician, he is also a statistician, a meteorologist, and a correspondent".
Pervushin died in Mehonskoe at the age of 73.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
of the 2nd half of 19th century.
Pervushin was born in the town of Lysva
Lysva
Lysva is a town in Perm Krai, Russia, located in the eastern part of the krai on the Lysva River, from Perm. Population: It was founded in 1785 as a place of residence for industrial workers. In 1926, it was granted town status....
of the Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
gubernia to a family of a clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
man. He graduated from Kazan clerical academy in 1852. Upon graduation, Pervushin was required to become a priest; he stayed for some time in Perm, then moved to a remote village of Zamaraevo, some 150 miles from Ekaterinburg, where he lived for 25 years.
The Priest's job provided for Pervushin's life and left him plenty of free time to spend on mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. Pervushin was particularly interested in number theory
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
. In 1877 and in the beginning of 1878 he presented two papers to the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. In these papers, he proved that the 12th and 23rd Fermat numbers are composite:
is divisible by and
is divisible by In 1883 Pervushin demonstrated that the number:
= 2305843009213693951is a Mersenne prime
Mersenne prime
In mathematics, a Mersenne number, named after Marin Mersenne , is a positive integer that is one less than a power of two: M_p=2^p-1.\,...
. This number became known as "Pervushin's number", and remained the second largest known prime (after
, proved prime by LucasEdouard Lucas
François Édouard Anatole Lucas was a French mathematician. Lucas is known for his study of the Fibonacci sequence. The related Lucas sequences and Lucas numbers are named after him.-Biography:...
7 years earlier) until 1911, when Powers
R. E. Powers
Details of the life of R.E. Powers are little-known; however, he was apparently the first mathematician to demonstrate that the Mersenne number M107 = 2107 − 1 was indeed prime. This was published in his article Certain composite Mersenne's numbers in 1916. Sometimes, mathematical textbooks...
proved that
is prime.From Zamaraevo, Pervushin moved to the nearby town of Shadrinsk
Shadrinsk
Shadrinsk is a town in Kurgan Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Iset River northwest of Kurgan. Population: -Climate:...
in 1883. Here Pervushin published an article that ridiculed the local government. As a punishment, he was exiled to the village of Mehonskoe in 1887.
A contemporary of Pervushin's, writer A.D.Nosilov, who frequently visited Pervushin in Mehonskoe, wrote a paper "Priest-mathematician", which was published in the "New time" magazine on July 6, 1896.
He wrote: "... this is the modest unknown worker of science ... All of his spacious study is filled up with the different mathematical books, ... here are the books of famous mathematicians: Chebyshev, Legendre
Adrien-Marie Legendre
Adrien-Marie Legendre was a French mathematician.The Moon crater Legendre is named after him.- Life :...
, Riemann; not including all modern mathematical publications, which were sent to him by Russian and foreign scientific and mathematical societies. It seemed I was not in a study of the village priest, but in a study of an old mathematics professor ... Besides being a mathematician, he is also a statistician, a meteorologist, and a correspondent".
Pervushin died in Mehonskoe at the age of 73.