History of Morse theory.

Question

How can I get good references which give many information about history of Morse theory? Now I am interested in how and who found that Hessian have a lot of data. Thank you for your helping!!

Answer 1

You may want to try these references:

• R. Bott, "Marston Morse and his mathematical works", Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 3 (1980) 907–950.

• Dieudonné's A history of algebraic and differential topology.

• Morse theory in Tu's The life and works of Raoul Bott [pdf]. Also in Notice of AMS.

Answer 2

I would suggest:

1. Morse Theory Indomitable by R. Bott which talks about the development of Morse Theory

2. Morse Theory by J.Milnor which describes the classical approach to Morse Theory and its applications.