35 0000 years ago our ancestors used characters to express quantity. Since then, math has helped people solve their everyday problems. For many of us is understanding the higher level of mathematics beyond our capabilities. Therefore, we look at people able to explore an endless realm full of various structures and numbers in awe. Here is 10 of them…
Pythagoras about 570 – 490 BC
We have no direct evidence of Pythagorean life. All information comes from other people’s records, especially from Plato’s writings. Some scientists believe that Pythagoras is not a real person, but just an embodiment of ideas. According to legends, Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos and travelled extensively before settling in southern Italy, where he founded the Pythagorean school. Maybe he got as far as India. He was interested in the mathematics of the Babylonian Empire, Egypt, and other cultures.
Euclid about 300 BC.
Euclid’s life is a mystery. Many translations of his work are attributed to a certain Euclid of Megara, who was a disciple of Socrates and probably lived a hundred years later than our „father of geometry.“ Euclid devoted himself to mathematics, living at the turn of the 4th and 3rd century BC, in Alexandria, where he no doubt drew information from the recently established large library. Archimedes stated that Euclid taught the Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy and, in his efforts to facilitate his studies, reprimanded him with the phrase: „There is no royal way to geometry.“
Fibonacci about 1170 – 1240
Also known as Leonardo of Pisa or Leonardo Bonacci. The most famous nickname of this mathematician is a diminutive of the family name and means „Bonacci’s son“. The name under which he and his succession are known has been commonplace for many years since his death. In drawing his mathematical theory, Leonardo drew on his childhood in what is now Algeria (his father was a businessman here). The Republic of Pisa guaranteed him a life annuity for his mathematical work, which was seen as a means of improving business practices.
Leonhard Euler 1707 – 1783
Euler is the founder of graph theory, natural logarithms, and Infinitesimal calculus. He also dealt with logic, optics, and mechanics. He also introduced many new modern mathematical concepts and symbols, especially in mathematical analysis. He had a phenomenal memory, thanks to which he was able to study foreign languages in addition to many technical subjects. Although he was of Swiss nationality, he spent most of his life in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Berlin, Germany. His deteriorated eyesight which affected him for more than half of his life was compensated by his respectable discoveries.
Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777 – 1855
The „Prince of Mathematics“ did not have much of a royal entry into life. His parents were illiterate and did not even record the date of his birth. His mother remembered that he was born on Wednesday, 8 days before the Feast of the Ascension, which was 40 days after the Resurrection. Gauss was a miracle child. His education was sponsored by the Duke of Brunswick, who sent him to study in Göttingen, where he worked for the rest of his life. Gauss was an exceptional figure of his generation and contributed to the development of geometry, prime numbers, and statistics.
Pierre de Fermat 1601 – 1665
Probably the most famous amateur mathematician in the history. Pierre de Fermat used to work as a lawyer in a small city in southern France, and according to some records he was not admired for his skills in the courtroom. His father was a wealthy merchant. Thanks to that was Fermat financially secure and he could spend enough time with his hobbies, including mathematics. He used to write his notes on the sides of the books or send them to his friends by mail rather than to publish them. Fermat was closed and cautious, preferring to live in anonymity. He published very little and many of his works were published after his passing. He discovered analytic geometry independently from Descartes, not publishing it. Together with Pascal, they built a theory of probability and he himself found the shortest time principle in optics, named Fermat’s principle to honour him. He left almost no mathematical proof of his works (it was not required at that time), and majority was being proven by someone else. His most famous work was proven in 1995 by a mathematician A. Willes.
Gottfried Leibniz 1646 – 1716
Leibniz was a complete opposite of his rival Isaac Newton. He was funny, charming and had many admirers all over Europe. He got into mathematics relatively late. First, he was providing diplomatic and library services with the Elector of Mainz and later at Hanoverian court. This occupation allowed him to travel frequently, getting to know works of other authors. Leibniz found out, that there is a method the exact opposite of derivatives, and it is suitable to calculate volumes of any curved shapes. This operation was called integration. He contributed to creation of the first German scientific society in Prussia in 1700. He stayed in Hannover until 1716, when he passed away. He spent his life writing philosophical and mathematical treatises.
Archimedes of Syracuse about 290-212 BC.
It is not known whether this Greek scientist and inventor ever visited the area of today’s Greece. He lived in Hellenic colony Syracuse in Sicily, apparently studying in Alexandria. Few people can compare themselves with Archimedes regarding his achievements. Aside from mathematics, he was dedicated to inventions. He invented Archimedes’ screw to pump water, Archimedes’ cup and supposedly even a secret weapon to set ships aflame, which was amplifying the effect of solar beams thanks to a system of mirrors (polished shields of soldiers). And of course, he is the author of Archimedes‘ law, which puts buoyancy and density into context.
René Descartes 1596 – 1650
There are very few statements that we hear more often than „Cogito ergo sum“, René Descartes‘ basic proof of own existence. He explains that where there is thought, that there is also doubt. When an individual doubts their own thoughts, and existence, it is proof of their existence. Descartes decided to live in Holland led by protestants even though he was catholic. He decided to postpone the publication of his first work „Treatise on the world“ due to Galileo Galilei being ordered to the Holy office for stating that the earth revolves around the sun, which was heretical according to the catholic church. Most Descartes‘ work has later found its way into his magnum opus, „Discourse on method“ 1637.
Joseph Lagrange 1736 – 1813
Joseph-Louis Lagrange, originally named Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, was a French mathematician and astronomer of Italian heritage, that has significantly developed the mathematical analysis, number theory, classical and a celestial mechanics. He elaborated the technique of calculating the factors of planet and comet trajectories based on three observations and the role of three bodies. He helped with reform of weights and measures during French revolution. He is a co-founder of a field of mathematics called calculus of variations. He was one of the biggest mathematicians of 18th century, similarly to Leonhard Euler. Already at age of 19, he became a professor at Turin Accademia delle Scienze and since 1797 he lectured at prestigious École Polytechnique.