Google Doodle honors mathematician Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss

April 30 (UPI) -- Google is celebrating what would have been the 241st birthday of mathematician Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss with a new Doodle.

Gauss, known as the Prince of Mathematicians, was born in 1777 in Brunswick, Germany. Gauss' mother was illiterate, however, he was considered a child prodigy in school who could solve complex math problems in his head.

Gauss, who made contributions in the fields of number theory, algebra, geophysics, mechanics and statistics, discovered a heptadecagon, or a 17-sided polygon, could be made with a compass and straightedge in 1786.

Gauss would go on to produce a textbook, Disquitiones Arithmeticae, in 1801 which explored number theory. The book influenced the study of number theory throughout the 19th century.

Other accomplishments include rediscovering dwarf planet Ceres, becoming a Professor of astronomy and director of the astronomical observatory in Gottingen, Germany and inventing the heliotrope, an instrument used for measuring the sun's rays over great distances, among others things.

Google's homepage features an illustration of Gauss along with his heptadecagon, planetary orbits, a telescope and a bell curve.