The Evolution of Evolutionary Equations

“May you live in exciting times!” This traditional Chinese saying aptly describes the environment surrounding the basic developments in mathematics, physics, and chemistry over the past four centuries. From the founding of the European Academies of Sciences during the era of Peter the Great and Napoleon, to the founding of the National Science Foundation in the United States of America during the presidency of Harry Truman, governments have realized the importance of scientific research.1 To trace the implications of this academic research, as it affects the evolution of evolutionary equations, we begin in 1601 in Prague with the appointment of Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) to the position of Imperial Mathematician of the Holy Roman Empire, after the death of his predecessor, Tycho Brahe (1546–1601).