Mathematicians are responsible for so much in the world today, from architecture to quantum physics, and it all started with mathematical principles like math notation and formulas. Who were these influential mathematicians? What did they do? And how did their ideas shape the future of science and human advancement? In this article we’ll take you through 10 great mathematicians in history who changed the way we think about our world around us, from Euclid to Alan Turing to Alexander Grothendieck . . . and maybe some you never even heard of!
#1 - Euclid - 300 BC
Euclid is one of the first scientists that is known for his work in geometry. He also wrote a book called Elements. This book was a collection of geometric truths and proofs. Euclid was born about 300 BC, which makes him one of the earliest mathematicians to have ever lived. His contribution to mathematics is arguably unmatched by any other mathematician before him or after him. Scientists had not yet discovered calculus at this time and many problems were still unsolved because of it. But with Euclid's help, they could understand much more than they did before he came along. In fact, even today we are still learning from his works!
#2 - Archimedes - 287 – 212 BC
Known as one of the most important scientists in history, Archimedes is known for his contributions to mathematics, physics, engineering, and astronomy. Working with geometry and calculus long before they were studied formally by mathematicians, he was able to determine that a sphere’s volume is two-thirds of its circumscribing cylinder’s volume. He also made great strides in understanding buoyancy by creating a generalized method of determining how objects float or sink. Some of these discoveries led to inventions such as machines and other devices used in ancient Roman times, including a system of pulleys used on ships to raise their anchors; a lever arm being one example. Archimedes had an influence on many later mathematicians including Galileo Galilei.
#3 - Aryabhata - 476 – 550 BC
Aryabhata was born in 476 AD and died in 550 AD. He is also known as Aryabhata I. Aryabhata was an Indian mathematician who lived during the time of Gautama Buddha, about a thousand years before Christ was born. During his lifetime he made very important contributions to mathematics. His most notable contribution to mathematics may be his equation for pi which is accurate up to fifteen decimal places (3.14159265359).
#4 - Pythagoras - 570 – 495 BC
Pythagoras was a mathematician and philosopher who is credited for the Pythagorean Theorem which states that for any right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of any two other sides. It is so called because he traveled around with a group of followers who were known as Pythagoreans. He also discovered that music could be translated into mathematical equations where sound frequencies create patterns across a spectrum.
#5 - Descartes - 1596 – 1650
René Descartes was a mathematician, philosopher, writer, and scientist. He is best known for his philosophical statement I think, therefore I am. He was born on March 31st, 1596 in La Haye en Touraine which is now part of France. In 1637 he traveled to Holland where he died on February 11th, 1650 due to pneumonia that he contracted while sitting outside with friends on a cold evening. His most famous contributions were in Geometry and Analysis.
He also made advances in Calculus, invented analytical geometry (or Cartesian coordinates), founded analytic geometry, coined the word complex to refer to an algebraic expression involving I (the square root of −1), introduced hyperbolic functions as an extension of rectangular trigonometry, discovered several results about cycloids, made one of the first studies about the general motion of fluids resulting from being hit by a constant force; studied motion under gravity
#6 - Newton and Leibniz- 1642–1716
Isaac Newton is most famous for his laws of motion which say that an object will stay at rest or continue moving unless it is acted upon by an outside force. This was a huge breakthrough, as before these laws were developed, some people believed that objects moved on their own.
Newton's other contribution to science was the first use of calculus. He discovered that this technique could be used to describe curves like circles and ellipses accurately. He also wrote a book called Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica where he described gravity and its effects on Earth, the moon, stars, and planets. Leibniz also contributed greatly to math with the introduction of the binary system, now used everywhere in computers.
#7 – Euler- 1707 – 1783
The Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler is one of the most prolific mathematicians of all time. He contributed greatly to many branches of mathematics but is most famous for his work with integration, differential equations, and graph theory. He was a student at the University of Basel when he first went to Berlin as an assistant to one of Newton's correspondents and wrote over 800 letters in this period. In 1766, he became a professor at St.
#8 – Bernoulli Family 1710 – 1848
The Bernoulli family, which was a Swiss-German family of mathematicians, is one of the most important families in history. The father, Jakob Bernoulli, was a professor at Basel University from 1687 to 1705. His sons Johann I (1667-1748) and Jacob II (1654-1705), became professors at that same university. Jakob's grandson, Johann II (1710-1790), also was an academician of note.
He studied law but changed his focus when he learned that mathematics had more economic opportunities than law. It was during this time period that he developed the mathematical theory of probability and infinitesimal calculus. He also helped found Bernoulli geometry with Daniel Bernoulli who later became a director of math studies at Edinburgh Academy.
#9 - Gauss 1777 – 1855
The German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss is often referred to as the Prince of Mathematics. His research ranged from analysis to number theory and geometry. He also advanced our understanding of electricity, magnetism, astronomy, geodesy (the measurement of Earth's surface), differential geometry (the study of curves), and statistics. In 1831 he wrote Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, which was a major contribution to number theory. His work contains an early use of imaginary numbers in mathematics.
#10 Ramanujan 1887–1920
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Ramanan was a self-taught Indian mathematician, considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He has been called a child prodigy and his originality has been compared to that of Albert Einstein. In 1912 he sent a letter containing his work on an unsolved problem in pure mathematics to Professor Hardy at Trinity College, Cambridge University. Upon examining it and verifying Ramanujan's groundbreaking findings, Hardy wrote back to him saying I was delighted to see some of your early work; you will certainly go far if you persevere.
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