| Year | Major event(s) |
| 1777 | April 30, born in Brunswick |
| 1784 | Enters St. Katherine's School in Brunswick |
| 1786 | Enters Büttner arithmetic class. Büttner ordered him a textbook from Hamburg |
| 1787 | Friendship with Bartels. They study the binomial theorem and infinite series together. |
| 1788 | Bartels leaves the Büttner school. Gauss enters second class of "gynamsium." Exhibits great talent in languages. |
| 1791 | Presented at court to the Duke of Brunswick. Minister of state Geheimrat Feonçe von Rotenkreuz presents him a table of logarithms. |
| 1792 | February 18, enters the Collegium Carolinium, supported by the Duke of Brunswick. Perfects himself in ancient and modern languages. Studies the works of Newton, Euler, and Lagrange. |
| 1795 | march, discovered by induction the fundamental theorem for quadratic resideues (already published by Legendre in 1795). October 11, leaves Brunswick. October 15, registers as student in the University of Göttingen. Application of his methods of least squares. |
| 1796 | March 30, discovers inscription of the regular polygon of seventeen sides in a circle. April 8, proof that -1 is the quadratic residue of all primes of the form 4n + 1 and nonresidue of the fundamental theorem for quadratic residues. April 29, generalization of this theorem for coposite numbers. June 22, beginning of investigations on binary quadratic forms. July 27, began the second proof of the fundamental theorem of quadratic residues. |
| 1797 | January 8, beginning of research on the lemniscate function February 4, second proof for the number 2 as quadratic residue or nonresidue. July 22, theorem that the product of two integral rational functions of one variable with fractional coefficients and unity as coefficient of the highest degree is a functuion in which not all coefficients can be whole numbers. October 1, discovery of the principles on which the proof of the fundamental theorem for rational algebraic functions is based. |
| 1798 | April, proof that the only possible character of classes of forms are all possible. September 29, leaves the University of Göttingen, Returns to Brunswick and prepares his major work in the theory of numbers. Uses the University of Helmstedt library and works with Pfaff, in whose home he is a guest. Autumn, beginning of research on the composition of binary quadratic forms. |
| 1799 | February 14, beginning of research on ternary quadratic forms. July 16, recieves doctor of philosophy degree, University of Helmstedt, in absentia. Dissertation contains first proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra. Later proofs in 1815, 1816, 1849. |
| 1800 | January, recieves Legendre's essay on the theory of numbers. February 13, discovers that the number of simplest ternary quadratic forms is finite. May, publishes formula for determining the date of Easter. |
| 1801 | January 1, Piazzi discovers Ceres. September 29, publishes his Disquisitiones arithmeticae. December, calculates first elliptic elements of Ceres. |
| 1802 | Summer, observations of Pallas. September 5, offered the directorship of the St. Petersburg observatory. |
| 1803 | January 30, decides to remain in Brunswick. Summer, visits Olbers in Bremen. |
| 1804 | Further work in astronomy. |
| 1805 | October 9, marries Johanna Osthoff. |
| 1806 | August 21, birth of his son, Joseph. |
| 1807 | July 25, official call to the University of Göttingen. Accepts. November 21, arrives in Göttingen with his family. |
| 1808 | February 29, birth of his daughter Minna. April 14, death of his father. Autumn, Schumacher goes to Göttingen to study under Gauss. |
| 1809 | Publication of Theoria motus, his major work in astronomy. September 10, birth of his son, Louis. October 11, death of his wife. |
| 1810 | March 1, death of his son Louis. August 4, marries Minna Waldeck. Autumn, Gerling, Nicolai, Möbius, and Encke go to Göttingen in order to study under Gauss. Efforst to get him to accept a professorship in Berlin. Interest in optics. |
| 1811 | Summer, research on comets. July 29, birth of his son Eugene. |
| 1812 | Memoir on hypergeometric series published. |
| 1813 | October 23, birth of his son Wilhlem. |
| 1814 | Publication of his memoir on a new method of approximate integration. |
| 1815 | New proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra. |
| 1816 | June 9, birth of his daughter Therese. September 17, moves into the new Göttingen observatory. |
| 1817 | His mother makes her home with him. |
| 1818 | Commissioned to survey the Kingdom of Hanover. |
| 1819 | Publication of memoir on method of least squares. |
| 1820 | Memoir on the new meridian circle at Göttingen. |
| 1821 | Invention of the heliotrophe. |
to 1826 |
Geodetic survey of the Kingdom of hanover. |
| 1827 | Publication of memoir on the theory of curved surfaces. |
| 1828 | Attends scientific convention in Berlin. Guest of Alexander von Humboldt, Made full professor. |
| 1829 | research on mechanics and fluids in a state of equilibrium. |
| 1830 | Son Eugene goes to America. Work on theory of capillarity. |
| 1831 | Weber appointed professor of physics in Göttingen. Studies crystallography. September 12, death of his wife. |
| 1832 | Research on magnetism andelectricity. |
| 1833 | Easter, operation of the electromagnetic telegraph in collaboration with Weber. Publication of basic memoir on magnetism. July, dean of the philosophical faculty for on year. |
| 1834 | August 31, death of Harding at the Göttingen observatory. December 19, Goldschmidt appointed to position at the Göttingen observatory. |
| 1835 | Publication of memoir on magnetic observations. |
| 1836 | Invents the bifilar magnetometer. Founding of the magnetic union. |
| 1837 | September, centenary jubilee of the University of Göttingen observatory. Humboldt his house guest. October 29, on Wilhelm goest to America. December, son-in-law Ewald exiled. |
| 1838 | Recieves the Copley Medal from Royal Society of London. daughter Minna moves to Tübingen. May 30, first grandchild born, near St. Charles, Missouri. Studies Russian. |
| 1839 | April 18, death of his mother. December 6, becomes secretary of the Royal Society of Göttingen. |
| 1840 | Studies Sanskrit. Publishes Atlas of Terristrial Magnetism. August 12, daughter Minna dies. Work on theory of the potential. |
| 1841 | July, dean of philosophical faculty for one year. Publishes proof of Legendre's theorem in spherical trigonometry. |
| 1842 | May, son Joseph Guass participates in fighting the great fire in Hamburg. |
| 1843 | Publication of memoir in geodesy (also 1846). |
| 1844 | Publishes elliptic elements of the orbit of Faye's comet. |
| 1845 | January, Goldschmidt appointed associate professor at the observatory. Research on comets. July, dean of philosophical faculty for one year. Lightning destroys Gauss-Weber telegraph line. |
| 1846 | Publication of second memoir on geodesy. Riemann studies under him. |
| 1848 | Observations of Neptune and Iris. Revolution in Germany. Gauss favors the conservatives. |
| 1849 | July 16, celebration of the golden jubilee of his attaining his doctorate. Last proff of the fundamental theorem of algebra. July 26, Lindenau bisits Gauss. |
| 1850 | Dedekind and Moritz Cantor study under Gauss. |
| 1851 | February 15, Goldschmidt dies. Last regualar astronomical observations. Klinkerfues studies under him. |
| 1852 | Ernst Schering and Alfred Enneper study under him. |
| 1853 | Observations of Psyche. Investigates table rapping. |
| 1854 | June 16, visits railway construction between Göttingen and Kassel. July 31, attends opening of railroad at Göttingen. August 7, death of his brother Georg Heinrich. |
| 1855 | February 23, his death. February 26, his burial. |
