As college students be taught math, it’s essential for them to know that arithmetic is extra than simply numbers and shapes. It’s additionally about well-known mathematicians—the individuals, personalities, and discoveries that formed what we find out about math at present. These 26 well-known mathematicians present us how math discoveries have formed historical past, come from all world wide, and are nonetheless occurring at present.
Thales of Miletus
Fashionable Turkey, 626–548 B.C.E.
Thales of Miletus used geometry to calculate the heights of pyramids and measure the gap from ships to the shore. He additionally found 5 geometric theorems and concepts:
- A diameter bisects a circle.
- Angles reverse two equal sides of a triangle are equal.
- Reverse angles of two intersecting angles are equal.
- An angle inside a semicircle is a right-angle triangle.
- When we’ve the size of a triangle’s base and two angles on the base, we will decide the triangle.
His work sounds straightforward to us, but it surely was groundbreaking on the time and set the stage for different well-known mathematicians and Western philosophers, like Socrates.
Be taught extra about Thales of Miletus at Britannica.
Pythagoras
Greece, 570–500 B.C.E.
Pythagoras (bear in mind his geometry theorem?) was a Greek thinker, mathematician, and extra. His concepts had a huge impact on Western philosophy and the event of arithmetic. He didn’t go away any writings, so it’s onerous to determine precisely what originated with Pythagoras and what got here from his followers, together with different mathematicians. Nevertheless it’s usually agreed that he created the idea of practical numbers and the Pythagorean theorem for proper triangles.
Be taught extra about Pythagoras at Britannica.
Euclid
Egypt, c. 325–265 B.C.E.
For those who’ve studied geometry, you’ve heard of Euclid. He was referred to as the Father of Geometry. Euclid’s most well-known work is The Parts, his writing about arithmetic. It was the middle of math instruction for two,000 years. In The Parts, Euclid lays out 5 postulates which can be the inspiration of geometry. Postulates one, two, and three are about traces, factors, and circles. Postulate 4 states that every one proper angles are equal. Postulate 5 is concerning the nature of parallel traces. Loads of what Euclid did appears apparent to us now, however that’s as a result of Euclid laid all of it out so different students may construct on it.
Be taught extra about Euclid at Story of Arithmetic.
Aristotle
Greece, 384–322 B.C.E.
Aristotle is thought for being a thinker, however he was additionally some of the well-known mathematicians (and likewise studied geology and medication, amongst different issues). He helped outline math entities like level, line, aircraft, stable, circle, quantity, and even and odd, and outlined ideas like prime numbers.
Be taught extra about Aristotle at Britannica Youngsters.
Archimedes
Sicily, 287–212 B.C.E
Archimedes spent his life looking for math formulation that have been associated to physics. He’s referred to as the inventor of pulleys and pumps, however his major curiosity was math. He labored in geometry, making discoveries about spheres, cylinders, circles, and parabolas. Maybe he’s most well-known for calculating the worth of pi utilizing the “method of exhaustion.” To do that, Archimedes drew an everyday polygon outdoors a circle and a smaller polygon contained in the circle. He doubled the variety of sides in every polygon and calculated the size of every facet. Because the variety of sides elevated, it turned a extra correct approximation of a circle. When the polygon had 96 sides, he may decide pi.
Be taught extra about Archimedes at World Historical past Encyclopedia.
Eratosthenes
Egypt, c. 276–195 B.C.E.
Eratosthenes was identified for his actual calculation. He calculated Earth’s circumference and axis tilt. Each have been correct and have become well-known throughout his lifetime. To calculate this, he used the midday shadow at midsummer at one level the place the solar was so distant that the rays have been parallel, then used the gap between two factors on land to calculate the circumference. He additionally labored on prime numbers. His Sieve of Eratosthenes, or a technique to discover the primes smaller than n when n is lower than 10,000,000, continues to be an essential device in quantity concept.
Be taught extra about Eratosthenes at World Historical past Encyclopedia.
Hipparchus
Greece, 190–120 B.C.E.
Hipparchus is thought first for his astronomy, together with creating fashions for a way the solar and moon survive. In math, he developed trigonometry, constructed trigonometric tables, and solved issues of spherical trigonometry. Utilizing trigonometry and his theories concerning the solar and moon, he developed a dependable technique to predict photo voltaic eclipses.
Be taught extra about Hipparchus at Britannica Youngsters.
Heron of Alexandria
Egypt, c. 10 B.C.E. to 75 C.E.
Little or no is thought about Heron of Alexandria’s life, however he left behind 13 books of his writings. In math, Heron was most well-known for Heron’s components, the components for locating the world of a triangle utilizing the size of its sides. However Heron’s work didn’t cease there. He additionally labored on the areas of quadrilaterals, polygons, and floor and quantity of cones, cylinders, prisms, and extra shapes. For those who’re working with a geometrical components, Heron doubtless studied it. Heron additionally gave a components for locating the dice root of a quantity.
Be taught extra about Heron of Alexandria at Britannica.
Ptolemy
Egypt, 100–170 C.E.
Ptolemy is thought for making use of math to astronomy, like making use of theorems of spherical trigonometry to astrological issues. His ebook The Almagest, is about math and astronomy, regardless that on the time, individuals thought the Earth was the middle of the universe. He was additionally identified for his contributions to trigonometry. His desk of the lengths of chords in a circle is the primary desk of a trigonometric perform that we’ve.
Learn extra about Ptolemy on the World Historical past Encyclopedia.
Hypatia
Egypt, c. 355–415 C.E.
Hypatia is the primary feminine mathematician that we’ve report of. In reality, throughout her time, she was the world’s main mathematician and astronomer. Hypatia’s father was additionally a well-known mathematician and astronomer, and she or he continued his work, with a concentrate on preserving Greek math and astronomical information throughout a tough time in historical past. She wrote feedback on books about geometry and quantity concept.
Be taught extra about Hypatia at Smithsonian Journal.
Blaise Pascal
France, 1623–1662
Pascal was a baby prodigy whose father was a mathematician, so he achieved lots in his 39 years. In math, he labored on the arithmetic triangle—his ebook Treatise on the Arithmetic Triangle set the inspiration for future geometry. He invented a machine that did calculations and helped advance calculus. He’s additionally considered the founding father of likelihood.
Be taught extra about Blaise Pascal at Web Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Leonhard Euler
Switzerland and Russia, 1707–1783
Euler was a mathematician and physicist and a founding father of “pure mathematics.” He’s identified for locating helpful methods to make use of math in know-how and public affairs, in addition to contributing to geometry, calculus, and quantity concept. Euler invented practical notation, f(x), and developed the trigonometric features to point out sine, cosine, and tangent. He additionally invented Euler’s components, the best way to point out the connection between sine, cosine, and tangent. Apparently, Euler misplaced his sight, first in his proper eye after which in each his eyes.
Be taught extra about Leonhard Euler at New World Encyclopedia.
Joseph Fourier
France, 1768–1830
Fourier taught and studied mathematical physics, and confirmed how warmth shifting by means of solids could be analyzed by way of a mathematical collection of infinite sines and cosines (known as the Fourier Sequence). His work helped scientists research boundary-value issues like sunspots, tides, and climate. He additionally influenced the idea of features as an actual variable, which continues to be studied at present. Fourier lived through the French Revolution and acquired swept up within the revolution and its politics.
Be taught extra about Joseph Fourier at Britannica.
Carl Friedrich Gauss
Germany, 1777–1855
Gauss made contributions to quantity concept, geometry, likelihood concept, the idea of features, and extra. Due to the variety of contributions he made to math, he has been known as the Prince of Arithmetic. A few of his contributions to quantity concept embrace the prime quantity theorem, the arithmetic/geometric imply, and the binomial theorem, amongst others. Gauss is quoted as saying, “Mathematics is the queen of the sciences, and number theory is the queen of mathematics.”
Be taught extra about Carl Friedrich Gauss at Britannica.
Charles Babbage
England, 1791–1871
In 1812–13, Babbage acquired the concept to calculate math issues utilizing a machine, and he created a small calculator that might calculate as much as eight decimal factors. Then, in 1823, Charles Babbage designed a machine that might carry out computations primarily based on directions and will retailer data in reminiscence, like at present’s computer systems. He known as it the “difference engine” and programmed it to calculate logarithms and trigonometric features. On the time, Babbage designed it to be the scale of a room. The precise engine wasn’t constructed till virtually 200 years later and it labored completely. He additionally designed an “analytic engine” that was much more like a pc with printing skills.
Be taught extra about Charles Babbage at Britannica Youngsters.
George Boole
England, 1815–1864
Boole is thought for his work in algebra. He designed Boolean algebra (or Boolean logic), which entails logic issues and math features utilizing the operators and, or, and not. He additionally described a system the place two objects have been both on or off (like at present’s binary system that makes use of both 0 or 1). His work was the inspiration and begin of what turned pc science.
Be taught extra about George Boole at Completely Historical past.
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann
Germany, 1826–1866
In class, Riemann was an excellent, however not exemplary, pupil. He had an curiosity in math and studied it on his personal. Riemann used intuitive reasoning, which meant that he didn’t use a variety of calculations, however that additionally meant that his work was simpler to learn. He was finding out on the College of Berlin when he labored out his common concept of complicated variables, which is the inspiration of his different work. Riemann studied beneath Gauss and different well-known mathematicians. Riemann labored on geometry that went past two and three dimensions, and labored within the zeta perform and in multi-dimensional complicated numbers. His Riemann speculation is a mathematical thriller that’s nonetheless unsolved regardless that many different well-known mathematicians have labored on it.
Be taught extra about Bernhard Riemann at Britannica Youngsters.
David Hilbert
Germany, 1862–1943
David Hilbert was on the Sorbonne in Paris in 1900 when he gave a lecture concerning the 23 unsolved mathematical issues of the time. The “Hilbert problems” have been the main target for mathematicians through the twentieth century. (Now, of the unique 23 issues, 10 have been solved, 7 are partially solved, and 6, together with the Riemann speculation and the Kronecker-Weber theorem, haven’t but been solved). Hilbert additionally developed his personal theorems and ideas, together with practical evaluation. He was additionally optimistic about arithmetic and famously declared in a 1930 radio look, “We must know! We will know!”
Be taught extra about David Hilbert at Britannica.
G.H. Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan
England, 1877–1947; India, 1887–1920
G.H. Hardy and his Indian protégé Srinivasa Ramanujan have been well-known mathematicians who targeted on fixing math issues that earlier mathematicians had set out, just like the Riemann speculation. They didn’t remedy the Riemann speculation—they stated they did however solely proved that there are infinitely many zeros on the crucial line. Ramanujan, who had no formal coaching, did handle to show a lot of Riemann’s outcomes, and stated that his concepts got here to him in desires. The pair labored collectively at Cambridge College and had a huge impact on British arithmetic, although they by no means did absolutely remedy the Riemann speculation.
Be taught extra about Hardy and Ramanujan at YouTube.
Emmy Noether
Germany, 1882–1935
Noether was known as probably the most inventive summary algebraist of her time. She didn’t begin out finding out math, as an alternative finding out what most younger girls on the time studied—French, English, and the right way to cook dinner, clear, and play the clavier. At 18, she needed to take math lessons on the College of Erlangen, however the college refused to confess her as a result of she was a girl. They did, nonetheless, let her sit in on a category.
She sat in on lessons, with out getting credit score, for 2 years after which handed the check that allowed her to get her doctorate diploma in math. After 5 years, Noether earned the second diploma in math to be granted to a girl. However as a result of the College of Erlangen wouldn’t rent her as a professor, she labored together with her father and printed papers about her work. In her life, she made many contributions to math, together with finding out rings, groupings, and fields in algebra. She was a trainer and printed greater than 40 papers about math.
Be taught extra about Emmy Noether at Britannica.
John von Neumann
Hungary, 1903–1957
John von Neumann was a baby prodigy who labored on quantum concept and the Manhattan Mission. He created a design mannequin for a digital pc that used separate storage for processing data and holding knowledge, a construction that computer systems nonetheless observe. He additionally developed sport concept, or a manner to make use of math to research how individuals make selections that entails different individuals or “players.”
Be taught extra about John von Neumann at Britannica Youngsters.
Katherine Johnson
United States, 1918–2020
Johnson was the primary African American feminine NASA scientist. She accomplished the calculations that despatched Alan Shepard and John Glenn into house and was an essential a part of the Apollo house program. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and was one of many three girls depicted within the ebook and film Hidden Figures.
Be taught extra about Katherine Johnson at NASA.
Mary Jackson
United States, 1921–2005
Jackson was one other mathematician and aerospace engineer, and was the primary African American girl to be a NASA engineer. She began her profession as a math trainer after which joined the Nationwide Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to work on American house applications. She labored with Dorothy Vaughan, one other influential mathematician, to offer knowledge that was utilized in early house missions. Due to segregation, Jackson typically needed to get particular permission to take lessons and additional her schooling as she labored to turn out to be an engineer. Jackson was additionally depicted within the ebook and film Hidden Figures together with Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan.
Be taught extra about Mary Jackson at Britannica Youngsters.
Alfred van der Poorten
Australia, 1942–2010
Alfred van der Poorten was a college mathematician by means of and thru. He targeted on quantity concept, particularly Diophantine evaluation (an equation the place solely integer options are permitted), transcendental numbers, fractions, and elliptical curves. Van der Poorten made discoveries like fixing Posit’s conjecture on the rationality of the Hadamard quotient theorem and on the Einstein cosmological fixed. He additionally analyzed and wrote about different mathematician’s work, together with Leonhard Euler’s.
Be taught extra about Alfred van der Poorten on the Australian Mathematical Society.
Maryam Mirzakhani
Iran, 1977–2017
Mirzakhani is likely one of the most well-known mathematicians as a result of she took an progressive strategy to analysis in branches of math, together with symplectic geometry and ergodic concept. In 2014, she turned the primary (and solely) girl to earn the Fields Medal. Mirzakhani was considering math from a younger age and gained gold medals in 1994 and 1995 in the highschool Worldwide Mathematical Olympiads. She died on the age of 40 from breast most cancers.
Be taught extra about Maryam Mirzakhani at UNESCO.
Terence Tao
Australia, born 1975
Tao is taken into account among the finest mathematicians alive at present. He’s a professor on the College of California, Los Angeles. He gained the Fields Medal in 2006 for his work on partial differential equations, amongst different math matters. Tao’s accomplishments are unique and numerous, and he has labored on tasks that stretch the work of mathematicians who got here earlier than him, like Albert Einstein’s concept of common relativity. Tao’s work reveals that there’s nonetheless lots to be found in math.
Be taught extra about Terence Tao at Britannica.
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