As noted, Thévenin's theorem was first discovered and published by the German scientist Hermann von Helmholtz in 1853, four years before Thévenin's birth. Thévenin's 1883 proof, described above, is nearer in spirit to modern methods of electrical engineering, and this may explain why his name is more commonly associated with the theorem. Helmholtz's earlier formulation of the problem reflects a more general approach that is closer to physics.