„De nu aș fi pășit… pe calea lui Marte… contrară naturii și înclinării mele” Cariera militară a lui Bolyai János
“Had I not set out… on the path of Mars… contrary to my nature and inclinations” The military career of János Bolyai

Summary/Abstract: The Transylvanian mathematician Bolyai Janos (1802-1860) is regarded as the father of non-Euclidean geometry. The translator of his influential publication, the mathematician George Bruce Halsted, called Bolyai's Appendix""the mast extraordinary two dozen of pages in the whole history of thoughtf"" Yet, some aspects of his life aren't known by the larger audience. One such aspect is the fact that Bolyai served more than a decade in the uniform of the Habsburg army. A graduate student of the Viennese Technical Military Academy, Bolyai spent his service time as a military officer in faur different cities of the Empire. How did he spend these years? What kind of issues did he come upon during his tenure as an Imperial-Roya[ engineer officer? Why did he leave the army at the age of 31? These are the questions the following paper is attempting to answer.

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