10

Pythagoras of Samos

today, with the theorem playing a large part in modern

measurements and technological equipment, as well as being the
base of a large portion of other areas and theorems in
mathematics. But, unlike most ancient theories, it played a bearing
on the development of geometry, as well as opening the door to
the study of mathematics as a worthwhile endeavor. Thus, he could
be called the founding father of modern mathematics.
9
Andrew Wiles

Greek Mathematician Pythagoras is considered by some to be one

of the first great mathematicians. Living around 570 to 495 BC, in
modern day Greece, he is known to have founded the Pythagorean
cult, who were noted by Aristotle to be one of the first groups to

The only currently living mathematician on this list, Andrew Wiles is

actively study and advance mathematics. He is also commonly

most well known for his proof of Fermats Last Theorem: That no

credited with the Pythagorean Theorem within trigonometry.

positive integers, a, b and c can satisfy the equation

However, some sources doubt that is was him who constructed the

a^n+b^n=c^n For n greater then 2. (If n=2 it is the Pythagoras

proof (Some attribute it to his students, or Baudhayana, who lived

Formula). Although the contributions to math are not, perhaps, as

some 300 years earlier in India). Nonetheless, the effect of such, as

grand as other on this list, he did invent large portions of new

with large portions of fundamental mathematics, is commonly felt

mathematics for his proof of the theorem. Besides, his dedication is

contributions to the field of Topology. Whereas all round genius

often admired by most, as he quite literally shut himself away for 7

Isaac Newton has, because of the grand scientific epic Principia,

years to formulate a solution. When it was found that the solution

generally become the primary man hailed by most to be the actual

contained an error, he returned to solitude for a further year before

inventor of calculus. Nonetheless, what can be said is that both

the solution was accepted. To put in perspective how ground

men made considerable vast contributions in their own manner.

7
Leonardo Pisano Blgollo

breaking and new the math was, it had been said that you could
count the number of mathematicians in the world on one hand
who, at the time, could understand and validate his proof.
Nonetheless, the effects of such are likely to only increase as time
passes (and more and more people can understand it).
8
Isaac Newton and Wilhelm Leibniz

I have placed these two together as they are both often given the

Blgollo, also known as Leonardo Fibonacci, is perhaps one of the

honor of being the inventor of modern infinitesimal calculus, and

middle ages greatest mathematicians. Living from 1170 to 1250, he

as such have both made monolithic contributions to the field. To

is best known for introducing the infamous Fibonacci Series to the

start, Leibniz is often given the credit for introducing modern

western world. Although known to Indian mathematicians since

standard notation, notably the integral sign. He made large

approximately 200 BC, it was, nonetheless, a truly insightful

sequence, appearing in biological systems frequently. In addition,

from this Fibonacci also contributed greatly to the introduction of
the Arabic numbering system. Something he is often forgotten for.
Haven spent a large portion of his childhood within North Africa he
learned the Arabic numbering system, and upon realizing it was far
simpler and more efficient then the bulky Roman numerals, decided
to travel the Arab world learning from the leading mathematicians
of the day. Upon returning to Italy in 1202, he published his Liber
Abaci, whereupon the Arabic numbers were introduced and applied
to many world situations to further advocate their use. As a result
of his work the system was gradually adopted and today he is
considered a major player in the development of modern
mathematics.
6
Alan Turing
Computer Scientist and Cryptanalyst Alan Turing is regarded my
many, if not most, to be one of the greatest minds of the 20th
Century. Having worked in the Government Code and Cypher
School in Britain during the second world war, he made significant
discoveries and created ground breaking methods of code breaking
that would eventually aid in cracking the German Enigma
Encryptions. Undoubtedly affecting the outcome of the war, or at
least the time-scale.
After the end of the war he invested his time in computing. Having
come up with idea of a computing style machine before the war, he

is considered one of the first true computer scientists. Furthermore,

Frenchman, who lived 1596 to 1650, made ground breaking

he wrote a range of brilliant papers on the subject of computing

contributions to mathematics. Alongside Newton and Leibniz,

that are still relevant today, notably on Artificial Intelligence, on

Descartes helped provide the foundations of modern calculus

which he developed the Turing test which is still used to evaluate a

(which Newton and Leibniz later built upon), which in itself had

computers intelligence. Remarkably, he began in 1948 working

great bearing on the modern day field. Alongside this, and perhaps

with D. G. Champernowne, an undergraduate acquaintance on a

more familiar to the reader, is his development of Cartesian

computer chess program for a machine not yet in existence. He

Geometry, known to most as the standard graph (Square grid lines,

would play the part of the machine in testing such programs.

5
Ren Descartes

x and y axis, etc.) and its use of algebra to describe the various
locations on such. Before this most geometers used plain paper (or
another material or surface) to preform their art. Previously, such
distances had to be measured literally, or scaled. With the
introduction of Cartesian Geometry this changed dramatically,
points could now be expressed as points on a graph, and as such,
graphs could be drawn to any scale, also these points did not
necessarily have to be numbers. The final contribution to the field
was his introduction of superscripts within algebra to express
powers. And thus, like many others in this list, contributed to the
development of modern mathematical notation.
4
Euclid

French Philosopher, Physicist and Mathematician Rene Descartes is

best known for his Cogito Ergo Sum philosophy. Despite this, the

on the topic of Geometry or Number theory. There are also another

five works that have, sadly, been lost throughout history.
3
G. F. Bernhard Riemann

Living around 300BC, he is considered the Father of Geometry and

his magnum opus: Elements, is one the greatest mathematical
works in history, with its being in use in education up until the 20th
century. Unfortunately, very little is known about his life, and what

Bernhard Riemann, born to a poor family in 1826, would rise to

exists was written long after his presumed death. Nonetheless,

become one of the worlds prominent mathematicians in the 19th

Euclid is credited with the instruction of the rigorous, logical proof

Century. The list of contributions to geometry are large, and he has

for theorems and conjectures. Such a framework is still used to this

a wide range of theorems bearing his name. To name just a few:

day, and thus, arguably, he has had the greatest influence of all

Riemannian Geometry, Riemannian Surfaces and the Riemann

mathematicians on this list. Alongside his Elements were five other

Integral. However, he is perhaps most famous (or infamous) for his

surviving works, thought to have been written by him, all generally

legendarily difficult Riemann Hypothesis; an extremely complex

problem on the matter of the distributions of prime numbers.

Largely ignored for the first 50 years following its appearance, due
to few other mathematicians actually understanding his work at the
time, it has quickly risen to become one of the greatest open
questions in modern science, baffling and confounding even the
greatest mathematicians. Although progress has been made, its
has been incredibly slow. However, a prize of $1 million has been
offered from the Clay Maths Institute for a proof, and one would
almost undoubtedly receive a Fields medal if under 40 (The Nobel
prize of mathematics). The fallout from such a proof is
hypothesized to be large: Major encryption systems are thought to
be breakable with such a proof, and all that rely on them would
collapse. As well as this, a proof of the hypothesis is expected to
use new mathematics. It would seem that, even in death,
Riemanns work may still pave the way for new contributions to the
field, just as he did in life.
2
Carl Friedrich Gauss

Child prodigy Gauss, the Prince of Mathematics, made his first

major discovery whilst still a teenager, and wrote the incredible
Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, his magnum opus, by the time he was
21. Many know Gauss for his outstanding mental ability quoted to
have added the numbers 1 to 100 within seconds whilst attending
primary school (with the aid of a clever trick). The local Duke,
recognizing his talent, sent him to Collegium Carolinum before he
left for Gottingen (at the time it was the most prestigious
mathematical university in the world, with many of the best
attending). After graduating in 1798 (at the age of 22), he began to
make several important contributions in major areas of

mathematics, most notably number theory (especially on Prime

If Gauss is the Prince, Euler is the King. Living from 1707 to 1783,

numbers). He went on to prove the fundamental theorem of

he is regarded as the greatest mathematician to have ever walked

algebra, and introduced the Gaussian gravitational constant in

this planet. It is said that all mathematical formulas are named

physics, as well as much more all this before he was 24! Needless

after the next person after Euler to discover them. In his day he

to say, he continued his work up until his death at the age of 77,

was ground breaking and on par with Einstein in genius. His

and had made major advances in the field which have echoed down

primary (if thats possible) contribution to the field is with the

through time.
1
Leonhard Euler

introduction of mathematical notation including the concept of a

function (and how it is written as f(x)), shorthand trigonometric
functions, the e for the base of the natural logarithm (The Euler
Constant), the Greek letter Sigma for summation and the letter /i
for imaginary units, as well as the symbol pi for the ratio of a circles
circumference to its diameter. All of which play a huge bearing on
modern mathematics, from the every day to the incredibly
complex.
As well as this, he also solved the Seven Bridges of Koenigsberg
problem in graph theory, found the Euler Characteristic for
connecting the number of vertices, edges and faces of an object,
and (dis)proved many well known theories, too many to list.
Furthermore, he continued to develop calculus, topology, number
theory, analysis and graph theory as well as much, much more
and ultimately he paved the way for modern mathematics and all
its revelations. It is probably no coincidence that industry and
technological developments rapidly increased around this time.