# Did Cantor knew the work of Paul du Bois-Reymond (the original inventor of the diagonal argument proof method in mathematics)? [duplicate]

Historically, the diagonal argument first appeared in the work of Paul du Bois-Reymond in 1875.

However, the diagonal argument is usually associated with the name Cantor. Thus I wonder: Did Cantor knew the work of Paul du Bois-Reymond? Or did he discover the diagonal method independently of Paul du Bois-Reymond?

## marked as duplicate by Francois Ziegler, Andrés E. Caicedo, Nick, VicAche, J. W. PerryAug 19 '17 at 5:15

• It's a pity that Wikipedia makes such assertions without saying where they got the idea. O'Connor-Robertson say "there is no clear evidence that Cantor was guided to his "diagonal argument" from du Bois-Reymond's work". And while they also say "there is clear evidence that du Bois-Reymond had essentially found the diagonal argument in 1875", not everyone agrees: see e.g. Simmons (1993), p. 187. – Francois Ziegler Jul 28 '17 at 5:17