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A tribute to Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855).
On February 23, 1855, one of the greatest mathematicians of all time died in Göttingen, Germany.  He requested that a heptadecagon - a regular 17-sided polygon - be carved on his tombstone.  He was proud that he had given a proof  of its construction.  Unfortunately the stone mason declined  saying the figure was too complex.
Richmond Nguyen



Nguyen accepted the challenge of mastering this construction and its proof.  He has now presented his work at several meetings.
For a larger view click here.

Note:  Modern stone masons can reproduce a picture of the heptadecagon, or almost any image, by using a laser and computer software.