Gauss' method of least squares applied to geodetic measurements in Friesland

Abstract

In this thesis I will illustrate a small part of the mathematics in Gauss's Supplement (1828) to the Theoria Combinationis Observationum Erroribus Minimus Obnoxiae, a fundamental work on least squares. I do this by explaining a geodetic example that was also used by Gauss, involving measurements made in six cities in Friesland and in the city of Groningen.