What were Jakob Steiner's primary areas of mathematical research?

Steiner focused almost exclusively on geometry, particularly synthetic geometry, where he explored the properties of geometric figures and spatial relationships without relying on algebraic methods. His work laid the groundwork for modern combinatorial geometry and the study of curves and surfaces.

Which institutions did Jakob Steiner work for during his career?

He was professionally affiliated with the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences and served as a university teacher at Frederick William University Berlin. These institutions provided the platform for his research and his role in educating future mathematicians.

What is the significance of the Steiner system in mathematics?

The Steiner system is a fundamental concept in combinatorial design theory, representing a specific arrangement of elements where every subset of a certain size appears exactly once. It remains a critical structure in the study of block designs and finite geometry.

How did Jakob Steiner influence the field of geometry?

Steiner revolutionized geometry by emphasizing synthetic methods, proving complex theorems using pure geometric reasoning rather than coordinates. His discoveries, such as the Steiner inellipse and Steiner chains, expanded the understanding of circle packings and triangle centers.

Did Jakob Steiner receive any academic honors?

Yes, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Königsberg, recognizing his significant contributions to the field of mathematics and his standing as a leading scholar of his time.

Jakob Steiner

Swiss mathematician (1796-1863)

Person Human Q123514

Facts

30 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[34]
Date of birth: March 18, 1796
Date of death: April 1, 1863
Place of birth: Utzenstorf
Place of death: Bern
Country of citizenship: Switzerland^[8]
Occupation: mathematician, university teacher
Employer: Frederick William University Berlin, University of Applied Sciences Berlin^[11]^[12]
Field of work: geometry, mathematics^[9]^[10]
Educated at: Heidelberg University, University of Berlin^[13]^[14]
Religion or worldview: reformed^[32]
Award received: honorary doctor of the University of Königsberg^[30]
Notable work: Steiner's theorem, Steiner's conic problem, Steiner surfaces, Steiner system, Steiner chain, Steiner tree problem, Poncelet–Steiner theorem, Steiner–Lehmus theorem, Steiner inellipse, Steinerian, Steiner point, Steiner point, Die geometrischen Konstructionen, ausgeführt mittelst der geraden Linie und eines festen Kreises / Jakob Steiner, parallel axis theorem, Systematische Entwicklung der Abhängigkeit geometrischer Gestalten von einander^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29]
Father: Niklaus Steiner^[7]
Work location: Berlin^[38]
Student of: Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi^[40]
Languages spoken, written or signed: German^[55]
Archives at: ETH Zurich University Archives^[35]
Described by source: Nordisk familjebok, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978), Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, BEIC Digital Library, Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary, Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947), Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890), Otto's encyclopedia, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, New International Encyclopedia, Neue Deutsche Biographie^[42]^[43]^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]^[51]^[52]^[53]^[54]
Family name: Steiner^[36]
Given name: Jakob^[37]
Influenced by: Fritz Bützberger^[33]
Maintained by WikiProject: WikiProject Mathematics

Show all 30 facts +6

Member of: Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences^[31]
Municipal affiliation of a Swiss national: Utzenstorf^[41]
Name in native language: Jakob Steiner
Relative: Carl Friedrich Geiser^[39]
Student: Leopold Kronecker^[15]
Writing language: German

🏷️ Also known as

en Jakob Steiner ar ياكوب شتاينر da Jacob Steiner de Jacob Steiner el Γιάκομπ Στάινερ fa یاکوب اشتاینر he יאקוב שטיינר he יעקב שטיינר ja ヤコブ・シュタイナー ja ヤコブ・スタイナー ko 야코프 슈타이너 ru Штейнер, Яков ru Штейнер Якоб ru Штейнер Яков ru Якоб Штейнер ru Яков Штейнер sv Steiner uk Штейнер Якоб zh 雅克布·斯坦那 zh 雅可比·斯坦納

🔖 Identifiers · 60

ISNI: 000000008127680X
VIAF cluster ID: 49306633
Library of Congress Authorities ID: n84806639
GND ID: 118617419
Alvin ID: alvin-person:14696
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12386861g
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: steiner-jakob
CANTIC ID: 981058515356106706
CERL Thesaurus ID: cnp01340440
CONOR.SI ID: 183159907
CTHS person ID: 124790
DDB person (GND) ID: 118617419

Show all 60 identifiers +48

De Agostini ID: Steiner,+Jakob
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 118617419
Diamond Catalog ID for persons and organisations: 92829
Edition humboldt digital ID: H0016062
Enciclopedia Galega Universal ID: 188352
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Jakob-Steiner
Encyclopædia Universalis ID: jakob-steiner
FAST ID: 139909
FactGrid item ID: John Reid
Freebase ID: /m/02qtkq
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID: jakob-steiner
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID (former scheme): 0064106
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Jakob_Steiner
HDS ID: 028951
Hrvatska enciklopedija ID: 57977
IdRef ID: 032827911
J9U entity ID: 987007280044605171
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 118617419
Libraries Australia ID: 35650858
Libris-URI: qn2463g82zv0mc3
Lur Encyclopedic Dictionary ID: 05482/eu_s_3018/s3018
MR Author ID: 259278
MacTutor biography ID: Steiner
Mathematics Genealogy Project ID: 166476
Museo Galileo authority ID: 66328
NL CR AUT ID: zcu2015881900
NLA Trove people ID: 1027268
NLP ID: a0000002790943
NUKAT ID: n02723589
National Library of Latvia ID: 000301650
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810633473405606
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 119762161
Obálky knih ID: zcu2015881900
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3979477
Open Library ID: OL1917516A
SELIBR ID: 238688
SHARE Catalogue author ID: 19643
SNAC ARK ID: w6710kk0
Symogih.org ID: Actr51451
Topic's main category: Category:Jakob Steiner
Treccani ID: jakob-steiner
Treccani's Enciclopedia della Matematica ID: steiner
University of Barcelona authority ID: 981058515356106706
University of Barcelona authority ID (former scheme): a1284103
WikiTree person ID: Steiner-2933
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJkdjhvdV7CCxd3b94ckjC
Yale LUX ID: person/eba07e16-7f16-44c4-9b76-4c51eafd6c91
ZbMATH author ID: steiner.jakob

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Named after 9

parallel axis theorem, Steiner–Lehmus theorem, Steiner tree problem, Steiner inellipse, Poncelet–Steiner theorem, Steiner system, Steiner ellipse, Steiner point +1 more

Notable work 9

parallel axis theorem, Steiner–Lehmus theorem, Steiner tree problem, Steiner chain, Steiner inellipse, Poncelet–Steiner theorem, Steiner system, Steiner point +1 more

Described by source 7

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, Nordisk familjebok, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, New International Encyclopedia, Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary, BEIC Digital Library

Educated at 2

Heidelberg University, University of Berlin

Field of work 2

mathematics, geometry

Occupation 2

mathematician, university teacher

Award received 1

honorary doctor of the University of Königsberg

Country of citizenship 1

Switzerland

Employer 1

Frederick William University Berlin

FactGrid item ID 1

John Reid

Family name 1

Steiner

Given name 1

Jakob

Influenced 1

Heinrich Schröter

Instance of 1

human

Languages spoken, written or signed 1

German

Maintained by WikiProject 1

WikiProject Mathematics

Member of 1

Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences

Municipal affiliation of a Swiss national 1

Utzenstorf

Place of birth 1

Utzenstorf

Place of death 1

Bern

Relative 1

Carl Friedrich Geiser

Sex or gender 1

male

Student 1

Leopold Kronecker

Student of 1

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Students 1

Leopold Kronecker

Work location 1

Berlin

Writing language 1

German

← FactGrid item ID 1

Massac-Séran

← Named by 1

power of a point

← Relative 1

Carl Friedrich Geiser

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Jakob Steiner was born on March 18, 1796^[1], in Utzenstorf^[2]. He died on April 1, 1863^[3], in Bern^[4]. He worked as a mathematician^[5] and university teacher^[6].

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Jakob Steiner include parallel axis theorem^[56], a theorem^[57]; Steiner tree problem^[58], a computational problem^[59]; Steiner system^[60], a mathematical concept^[61]; Steiner inellipse^[62], a mathematical concept^[63]; Poncelet–Steiner theorem^[64], a theorem^[65]; Steiner–Lehmus theorem^[66], a theorem^[67]; Steiner point^[68]; and Steiner ellipse^[69].

Why It Matters

Jakob Steiner has been cited as an influence by Heinrich Schröter^[70], a mathematician^[71], 1829–1892^[72], of Germany^[73], specialised in mathematics^[74].

Entities named for him include parallel axis theorem^[56], a theorem^[57]; Steiner tree problem^[58], a computational problem^[59]; Steiner system^[60], a mathematical concept^[61]; Steiner inellipse^[62], a mathematical concept^[63]; Poncelet–Steiner theorem^[64], a theorem^[65]; and Steiner–Lehmus theorem^[66], a theorem^[67].

FAQs

Where was Jakob Steiner born?

Jakob Steiner was born in Utzenstorf^[2].

Where did Jakob Steiner die?

Jakob Steiner passed away in Bern^[4].

Who were Jakob Steiner's parents?

Jakob Steiner's father was Niklaus Steiner^[7].

What did Jakob Steiner do for work?

Jakob Steiner worked as a mathematician^[5] and university teacher^[6].

Where did Jakob Steiner go to school?

Jakob Steiner was educated at Heidelberg University^[13] and University of Berlin^[14].

What awards did Jakob Steiner receive?

Honors received include honorary doctor of the University of Königsberg^[30].

Who did Jakob Steiner influence?

Jakob Steiner has been cited as an influence by Heinrich Schröter^[70].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Jakob Steiner — place of birth (P19): Utzenstorf. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved 2015-09-28. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Jakob Steiner — place of death (P20): Bern. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved 2015-09-28. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Jakob Steiner — sex or gender (P21): male. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Jakob Steiner — father (P22): Niklaus Steiner. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Jakob Steiner — country of citizenship (P27): Switzerland. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Jakob Steiner — educated at (P69): Heidelberg University. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Jakob Steiner — educated at (P69): University of Berlin. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Jakob Steiner — field of work (P101): geometry. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Jakob Steiner — field of work (P101): mathematics. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-11-07. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Jakob Steiner — occupation (P106): mathematician. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Jakob Steiner — occupation (P106): university teacher. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Jakob Steiner — employer (P108): Frederick William University Berlin. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Jakob Steiner — employer (P108): University of Applied Sciences Berlin. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Jakob Steiner — religion or worldview (P140): reformed. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Retrieved 2026-02-24. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Jakob Steiner — award received (P166): honorary doctor of the University of Königsberg. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Jakob Steiner — member of (P463): Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Jakob Steiner — archives at (P485): ETH Zurich University Archives. vls.hsa.ethz.ch. Retrieved 2025-01-15. vls.hsa.ethz.ch. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Jakob Steiner — date of birth (P569): March 18, 1796. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Jakob Steiner — date of death (P570): April 1, 1863. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ Jakob Steiner — family name (P734): Steiner. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ Jakob Steiner — given name (P735): Jakob. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Jakob Steiner — influenced by (P737): Fritz Bützberger. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner's theorem. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner's conic problem. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner surfaces. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner system. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner chain. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner tree problem. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Poncelet–Steiner theorem. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner–Lehmus theorem. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner inellipse. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steinerian. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Steiner point. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Die geometrischen Konstructionen, ausgeführt mittelst der geraden Linie und eines festen Kreises / Jakob Steiner. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): parallel axis theorem. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Jakob Steiner — notable work (P800): Systematische Entwicklung der Abhängigkeit geometrischer Gestalten von einander. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Jakob Steiner — student (P802): Leopold Kronecker. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ Jakob Steiner — work location (P937): Berlin. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2015-03-31. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ Jakob Steiner — relative (P1038): Carl Friedrich Geiser. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ Jakob Steiner — student of (P1066): Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ Jakob Steiner — municipal affiliation of a Swiss national (P1321): Utzenstorf. Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Retrieved 2026-02-24. wikidata.org.
[42] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Nordisk familjebok. wikidata.org.
[43] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). wikidata.org.
[44] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[45] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. wikidata.org.
[46] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): BEIC Digital Library. digitale.beic.it. digitale.beic.it. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[47] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[48] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[49] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947). wikidata.org.
[50] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890). wikidata.org.
[51] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Otto's encyclopedia. wikidata.org.
[52] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. wikidata.org.
[53] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): New International Encyclopedia. wikidata.org.
[54] ↑ Jakob Steiner — described by source (P1343): Neue Deutsche Biographie. Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 2026-11-02. wikidata.org.
[55] ↑ Jakob Steiner — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): German. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

[71] ↑ Heinrich Schröter — P106: mathematician. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[72] ↑ Heinrich Schröter — P569: 1829–1892. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[73] ↑ Heinrich Schröter — P27: Germany. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[74] ↑ Heinrich Schröter — P101: mathematics. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[57] ↑ parallel axis theorem — P31: theorem. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[59] ↑ Steiner tree problem — P31: computational problem. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[61] ↑ Steiner system — P31: mathematical concept. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[63] ↑ Steiner inellipse — P31: mathematical concept. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[65] ↑ Poncelet–Steiner theorem — P31: theorem. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[67] ↑ Steiner–Lehmus theorem — P31: theorem. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Jakob Steiner. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/jakob-steiner

MLA “Jakob Steiner.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 7 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/jakob-steiner.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_jakob-steiner_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Jakob Steiner}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/jakob-steiner}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-07}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Jakob Steiner — https://4ort.xyz/entity/jakob-steiner (retrieved 2026-11-07)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/jakob-steiner · Last refreshed: November 7, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

6d ago · Printstream · 2026-11-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Described by source → Nordisk familjebok, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978), Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary +10

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #63393: add described by source NDB and NDB-online (1/2)"
15d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-24 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"source for place of birth, source for date of death, source for place of death from the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland ([[Wikidata:R"
23d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"source for place of birth, source for place of death, source for date of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permiss"

Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.