Pythagoras of Samos

Greek Mathematician Pythagoras is considered by some to be one of the first great mathematicians. Living around 570 to 495 B ! in modern day Greece! he is kno"n to have founded the Pythagorean cu#t! "ho "ere noted by $ristot#e to be one of the first grou%s to active#y study and advance mathematics. &e is a#so common#y credited "ith the Pythagorean 'heorem "ithin trigonometry. &o"ever! some sources doubt that is "as him "ho constructed the %roof ()ome attribute it to his students! or Baudhayana! "ho #ived some *00 years ear#ier in +ndia,. -onethe#ess! the effect of such! as "ith #arge %ortions of fundamenta# mathematics! is common#y fe#t today! "ith the theorem %#aying a #arge %art in modern measurements and techno#ogica# e.ui%ment! as "e## as being the base of a #arge %ortion of other areas and theorems in mathematics. But! un#ike most ancient theories! it %#ayed a bearing on the deve#o%ment of geometry! as "e## as o%ening the door to the study of mathematics as a "orth"hi#e endeavor. 'hus! he cou#d be ca##ed the founding father of modern mathematics.

Andrew Wiles

'he on#y current#y #iving mathematician on this #ist! $ndre" /i#es is most "e## kno"n for his %roof of 0ermat1s Last 'heorem2 'hat no %ositive integers! a! b and c can satisfy the e.uation a3n4b3n5c3n 0or n greater then 6. (+f n56 it is the Pythagoras 0ormu#a,. $#though the contributions to math are not! %erha%s! as grand as other on this #ist! he did 7invent1 #arge %ortions of ne" mathematics for his %roof of the theorem. Besides! his dedication is often admired by most! as he .uite #itera##y shut himse#f a"ay for 7 years to formu#ate a so#ution. /hen it "as found that the so#ution contained an error! he returned to so#itude for a further year before the so#ution "as acce%ted. 'o %ut in %ers%ective ho" ground breaking and ne" the math "as! it had been said that you cou#d count the number of mathematicians in the "or#d on one hand "ho! at the time! cou#d understand and va#idate his %roof. -onethe#ess! the effects of such are #ike#y to on#y increase as time %asses (and more and more %eo%#e can understand it,.

Isaac Newton and Wilhelm Leibniz

I have placed these two together as they are both often given the honor of being the inventor of modern infinitesimal calc l s! and as s ch have both made monolithic contrib tions to the field" #o start! Leibniz is often given the credit for introd cing modern standard notation! notably the integral sign" $e made large contrib tions to the field of #opology" Whereas all ro nd geni s Isaac Newton has! beca se of the grand scientific epic Principia! generally become the primary man hailed by most to be the act al inventor of calc l s" Nonetheless! what can be said is that both men made considerable vast contrib tions in their own manner"

Leonardo Pisano %lgollo

B#go##o! a#so kno"n as Leonardo 0ibonacci! is %erha%s one of the midd#e ages greatest mathematicians. Living from 8870 to 8650! he is best kno"n for introducing the infamous 0ibonacci )eries to the "estern "or#d. $#though kno"n to +ndian mathematicians since a%%ro9imate#y 600 B ! it "as! nonethe#ess! a tru#y insightfu# se.uence! a%%earing in bio#ogica# systems fre.uent#y. +n addition! from this 0ibonacci a#so contributed great#y to the introduction of the $rabic numbering system. )omething he is often forgotten for. &aven s%ent a #arge %ortion of his chi#dhood "ithin -orth $frica he #earned the $rabic numbering system! and u%on rea#i:ing it "as far sim%#er and more efficient then the bu#ky ;oman numera#s! decided to trave# the $rab "or#d #earning from the #eading mathematicians of the day. <%on returning to +ta#y in 8606! he %ub#ished his Liber $baci! "hereu%on the $rabic numbers "ere introduced and a%%#ied to many "or#d situations to further advocate their use. $s a resu#t of his "ork the system "as gradua##y ado%ted and today he is considered a ma=or %#ayer in the deve#o%ment of modern mathematics.

;en> ?escartes

0rench Phi#oso%her! Physicist and Mathematician ;ene ?escartes is best kno"n for his 7 ogito @rgo )um1 %hi#oso%hy. ?es%ite this! the 0renchman! "ho #ived 859A to 8A50! made ground breaking contributions to mathematics. $#ongside -e"ton and Leibni:! ?escartes he#%ed %rovide the foundations of modern ca#cu#us ("hich -e"ton and Leibni: #ater bui#t u%on,! "hich in itse#f had great bearing on the modern day fie#d. $#ongside this! and %erha%s more fami#iar to the reader! is his deve#o%ment of artesian Geometry! kno"n to most as the standard gra%h ().uare grid #ines! 9 and y a9is! etc., and its use of a#gebra to describe the various #ocations on such. Before this most geometers used %#ain %a%er (or another materia# or surface, to %reform their art. Previous#y! such distances had to be measured #itera##y! or sca#ed. /ith the introduction of artesian Geometry this changed dramatica##y! %oints cou#d no" be e9%ressed as %oints on a gra%h! and as such! gra%hs cou#d be dra"n to any sca#e! a#so these %oints did not necessari#y have to be numbers. 'he fina# contribution to the fie#d "as his introduction of su%erscri%ts "ithin a#gebra to e9%ress %o"ers. $nd thus! #ike many others in this #ist! contributed to the deve#o%ment of modern mathematica# notation.

@uc#id

Living around *00B ! he is considered the 0ather of Geometry and his magnum o%us2 @#ements! is one the greatest mathematica# "orks in history! "ith its being in use in education u% unti# the 60th century. <nfortunate#y! very #itt#e is kno"n about his #ife! and "hat e9ists "as "ritten #ong after his %resumed death. -onethe#ess! @uc#id is credited "ith the instruction of the rigorous! #ogica# %roof for theorems and con=ectures. )uch a frame"ork is sti## used to this day! and thus! arguab#y! he has had the greatest inf#uence of a## mathematicians on this #ist. $#ongside his @#ements "ere five other surviving "orks! thought to have been "ritten by him! a## genera##y on the to%ic of Geometry or -umber theory. 'here are a#so another five "orks that have! sad#y! been #ost throughout history.

G. 0. Bernhard ;iemann

Bernhard ;iemann! born to a %oor fami#y in 8B6A! "ou#d rise to become one of the "or#ds %rominent mathematicians in the 89th entury. 'he #ist of contributions to geometry are #arge! and he has a "ide range of theorems bearing his name. 'o name =ust a fe"2 ;iemannian Geometry! ;iemannian )urfaces and the ;iemann +ntegra#. &o"ever! he is %erha%s most famous (or infamous, for his #egendari#y difficu#t ;iemann &y%othesisC an e9treme#y com%#e9 %rob#em on the matter of the distributions of %rime numbers. Large#y ignored for the first 50 years fo##o"ing its a%%earance! due to fe" other mathematicians actua##y understanding his "ork at the time! it has .uick#y risen to become one of the greatest o%en .uestions in modern science! baff#ing and confounding even the greatest mathematicians. $#though %rogress has been made! its has been incredib#y s#o". &o"ever! a %ri:e of D8 mi##ion has been offered from the #ay Maths +nstitute for a %roof! and one "ou#d a#most undoubted#y receive a 0ie#ds meda# if under 40 ('he -obe# %ri:e of mathematics,. 'he fa##out from such a %roof is hy%othesi:ed to be #arge2 Ma=or encry%tion systems are thought to be breakab#e "ith such a %roof! and a## that re#y on them "ou#d co##a%se.

ar# 0riedrich Gauss

hi#d %rodigy Gauss! the 7Prince of Mathematics1! made his first ma=or discovery "hi#st sti## a teenager! and "rote the incredib#e ?is.uisitiones $rithmeticae! his magnum o%us! by the time he "as 68. Many kno" Gauss for his outstanding menta# abi#ity E .uoted to have added the numbers 8 to 800 "ithin seconds "hi#st attending %rimary schoo# ("ith the aid of a c#ever trick,. 'he #oca# ?uke! recogni:ing his ta#ent! sent him to o##egium aro#inum before he #eft for Gottingen (at the time it "as the most %restigious mathematica# university in the "or#d! "ith many of the best attending,. $fter graduating in 879B (at the age of 66,! he began to make severa# im%ortant contributions in ma=or areas of mathematics! most notab#y number theory (es%ecia##y on Prime numbers,. &e "ent on to %rove the fundamenta# theorem of a#gebra! and introduced the Gaussian gravitationa# constant in %hysics! as "e## as much more E a## this before he "as 64F -eed#ess to say! he continued his "ork u% unti# his death at the age of 77! and had made ma=or advances in the fie#d "hich have echoed do"n through time.

Leonhard @u#er

+f Gauss is the Prince! @u#er is the Ging. Living from 8707 to 87B*! he is regarded as the greatest mathematician to have ever "a#ked this %#anet. +t is said that a## mathematica# formu#as are named after the ne9t %erson after @u#er to discover them. +n his day he "as ground breaking and on %ar "ith @instein in genius. &is %rimary (if that1s %ossib#e, contribution to the fie#d is "ith the introduction of mathematica# notation inc#uding the conce%t of a function (and ho" it is "ritten as f(9,,! shorthand trigonometric functions! the 7e1 for the base of the natura# #ogarithm ('he @u#er onstant,! the Greek #etter )igma for summation and the #etter 7Hi1 for imaginary units! as "e## as the symbo# %i for the ratio of a circ#es circumference to its diameter. $## of "hich %#ay a huge bearing on modern mathematics! from the every day to the incredib#y com%#e9. $s "e## as this! he a#so so#ved the )even Bridges of Goenigsberg %rob#em in gra%h theory! found the @u#er haracteristic for connecting the number of vertices! edges and faces of an ob=ect! and (dis,%roved many "e## kno"n theories! too many to #ist. 0urthermore! he continued to deve#o% ca#cu#us! to%o#ogy! number theory! ana#ysis and gra%h theory as "e## as much! much more E and u#timate#y he %aved the "ay for modern mathematics and a## its reve#ations.

Aryabhata
Aryabhata ()anskrit2

III III

#isten (he#%Jinfo,C +$)'2 Kryabhaa,

or Aryabhata IL8ML6M(47AE550 @,L*ML4M "as the first in the #ine of great mathematicianN astronomers from the c#assica# age of +ndian mathematics and +ndian astronomy. &is "orks inc#ude theryabhaya (499 @! "hen he "as 6* years o#d,L5M and the Aryasiddhanta. 'he "orks of $ryabhata dea#t "ith main#y mathematics and astronomy. &e a#so "orked on the a%%ro9imation for %i.