Gu Deng



Gu Deng (traditional Chinese: 顧澄; simplified Chinese: 顾澄; pinyin: Gù Dèng; Wade-Giles: Ku Teng) (1882 - 1947?) was a mathematician and politician in the Republic of China. He belonged to the Reformed Government of the Republic of China. His adult name was Yangwu (養捂). He was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu.

Biography
In the end of Qing Dynasty Gu Deng graduated the department of mathematics, the Gezhi Academy (格致書院). In 1909 Gu translated the book about quaternion, this is the first introduction about quaternion in Chinese history.

Gu became a teacher in Beijing University and Qinghua University, later he became the president of Beiping Women's College of Humanities and Sciences (北平女子文理學院) and the chairperson of the department of mathematics, Northeastern University. In February 1934, Gu became a professor of the department of mathematics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Gu and some mathematicians founded the Chinese Mathematical Society which is the first academic organization for Chinese mathematicians in 1935 in Shanghai. Gu became the editor-in-chief of Magazine of Mathematics (數學雜志) which is published by the Chinese Mathematical Society and Information of Science (科學通訊) which is published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

In April 1938, Gu Deng was appointed to the Vice-Minister for Education of the Reformed Government of Republic of China. In July, Chen Qun (陳群) was relieved from his additional post, the acting Minister for Education, so Gu became the provisional acting Minister (and he also stayed on the Vice-Minister). Next April, he promoted to the acting Minister for Education. Until March 1940, the Wang Jingwei regime was established, he stayed this position.

After establishing the Wang Jingwei regime, the whereabouts of Gu Deng were unknown, but he died in about 1947.