On Euler's contributions to the four-squares theorem (Q1209759)

Euler (1707-1783) studied the problem of proving the representability of each integer \(n\) as the sum of four squares \((n=4)\) since about 1730. The author examines his notebook 132, dating from 1740-1744, in which Euler based it on the result \(ab=4\), \(b=4\) and \(b<a\) imply \(a=4\). Although he might have accepted this at the time, he later acknowledged his failure to complete the proof. Eventually, inspired by Lagrange's success in 1770, Euler gave a correct proof with a different approach to the key proposition.