Speaker: Joe Mott.
Title: History of the Early Development of Algebraic Number Theory.
Affiliation: Florida State University.
Date: Friday, 11 April 2003.
Place and Time: Room 101 - Love Building, 3:35-4:30 pm.
Reception: Room 204 - Love Building, 4:35 pm.

Abstract. I will trace some of the history of the study of numbers which led to the development of algebraic number theory. I will go back to the simple beginnings in antiquity, mention the contributions of Euclid and Diophantus, then broaden the horizons with some of the works of Fermat, Euler, Lagrange and Gauss, ending up with the modern solution of some of the early conjectures. The primary focus will be on certain problems that exploit the interplay between class number of algebraic number fields and polynomials with integer coefficients that produce prime values.