In The Irrationals, the first popular and comprehensive book on the subject, Julian Havil tells the story of irrational numbers and the mathematicians who have tackled their challenges, from antiquity to the twenty-first century.
Nicholas realized he was powerless. Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne on March 2, (according to the Russian Julian calendar; March 15 according to the western Gregorian calendar), in 1917. He signed an abdication document stepping down from the throne and nominating his brother Michael to succeed him.
In 1881, Nicholasâ father, Alexander III, became czar (emperor) of Russia after his father, Alexander II, was killed by an assassin's bomb. Nicholas, at twelve, witnessed his grandfather's death when the czar, horribly maimed, was carried back to the palace.