Bolzano’s Mathematical Legacy Reconsidered

Today, Bernard Bolzano is well known to both mathematicians and historians of mathematics, at the very least because of the function that bears his name and the theorem named after him and Karl Weierstrass, or because, according to the usual narrative, his mathematical work was practically unknown to his contemporaries and remained in oblivion until Weierstrass and some of his students began to spread the word about it from the 1860s. This article provides an overview of Bolzano’s contributions to mathematics on two fronts. Firstly, it addresses the reception of the mathematical works that he published during his lifetime among his contemporaries, showing that, although they were not widely known, they were more so than is generally believed. On the other hand, it offers some insights into the mathematical writings that are part of his written estate, both published to date and yet unpublished, showing the diversity and richness of his contributions.