Nicole Angela R. Palacio Prof.

Cynthia Equiza
BSA 1-5 November 18, 2019
1. History and definitions of Math
History
Several civilizations — in China, India, Egypt, Central America and Mesopotamia — contributed to mathematics as we know it
today. The Sumerians were the first people to develop a counting system. Mathematicians developed arithmetic, which includes
basic operations, multiplication, fractions and square roots. The Sumerians’ system passed through the Akkadian Empire to the
Babylonians around 300 B.C. Six hundred years later, in America, the Mayans developed elaborate calendar systems and were
skilled astronomers. About this time, the concept of zero was developed.
As civilizations developed, mathematicians began to work with geometry, which computes areas and volumes to make angular
measurements and has many practical applications. Geometry is used in everything from home construction to fashion and
interior design.

Geometry went hand in hand with algebra, invented in the ninth century by a Persian mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-
Khowarizmi. He also developed quick methods for multiplying and diving numbers, which are known as algorithms — a
corruption of his name.

Algebra offered civilizations a way to divide inheritances and allocate resources. The study of algebra meant mathematicians
were solving linear equations and systems, as well as quadratics, and delving into positive and negative solutions.
Mathematicians in ancient times also began to look at number theory. With origins in the construction of shape, number theory
looks at figurate numbers, the characterization of numbers, and theorems.

Math and the Greeks

The study of math within early civilizations was the building blocks for the math of the Greeks, who developed the model of
abstract mathematics through geometry. Greece, with its incredible architecture and complex system of government, was the
model of mathematic achievement until modern times. Greek mathematicians were divided into several schools:

• The Ionian School, founded by Thales, who is often credited for having given the first deductive proofs and developing five
basic theorems in plane geometry.
• The Pythagorean School, founded by Pythagoras, who studied proportion, plane and solid geometry, and number theory.
• The Eleatic School, which included Zeno of Elea, famous for his four paradoxes.
• The Sophist School, which is credited for offering higher education in the advanced Greek cities. Sophists provided instruction
on public debate using abstract reasoning.
• The Platonic School, founded by Plato, who encouraged research in mathematics in a setting much like a modern university.
• The School of Eudoxus, founded by Eudoxus, who developed the theory of proportion and magnitude and produced many
theorems in plane geometry
• The School of Aristotle, also known as the Lyceum, was founded by Aristotle and followed the Platonic school.
In addition to the Greek mathematicians listed above, a number of Greeks made an indelible mark on the history of mathematics.
Archimedes, Apollonius, Diophantus, Pappus, and Euclid all came from this era. To better understand the sequence and how
these mathematicians influenced each other, visit this timeline.
During this time, mathematicians began working with trigonometry. Computational in nature, trigonometry requires the
measurement of angles and the computation of trigonometric functions, which include sine, cosine, tangent, and their
reciprocals. Trigonometry relies on the synthetic geometry developed by Greek mathematicians like Euclid. For example,
Ptolemy's theorem gives rules for the chords of the sum and difference of angles, which correspond to the sum and difference
formulas for sines and cosines. In past cultures, trigonometry was applied to astronomy and the computation of angles in the
celestial sphere.

After the fall of Rome, the development of mathematics was taken on by the Arabs, then the Europeans. Fibonacci was one of
the first European mathematicians, and was famous for his theories on arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. The Renaissance led
to advances that included decimal fractions, logarithms, and projective geometry. Number theory was greatly expanded upon,
and theories like probability and analytic geometry ushered in a new age of mathematics, with calculus at the forefront.

Development of calculus
In the 17th century, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz independently developed the foundations for calculus. Calculus
development went through three periods: anticipation, development and rigorization. In the anticipation stage, mathematicians
were attempting to use techniques that involved infinite processes to find areas under curves or maximize certain qualities. In
the development stage, Newton and Leibniz brought these techniques together through the derivative and integral. Though their
methods were not always logically sound, mathematicians in the 18th century took on the rigorization stage, and were able to
justify them and create the final stage of calculus. Today, we define the derivative and integral in terms of limits.
In contrast to calculus, which is a type of continuous mathematics, other mathematicians have taken a more theoretical
approach. Discrete mathematics is the branch of math that deals with objects that can assume only distinct, separated value.
Discrete objects can be characterized by integers, whereas continuous objects require real numbers. Discrete mathematics is
the mathematical language of computer science, as it includes the study of algorithms. Fields of discrete mathematics include
combinatorics, graph theory, and the theory of computation.

People often wonder what relevance mathematicians serve today. In a modern world, math such as applied mathematics is not
only relevant, it's crucial. Applied mathematics is the branches of mathematics that are involved in the study of the physical,
biological, or sociological world. The idea of applied math is to create a group of methods that solve problems in science. Modern
areas of applied math include mathematical physics, mathematical biology, control theory, aerospace engineering, and math
finance. Not only does applied math solve problems, but it also discovers new problems or develops new engineering disciplines.
Applied mathematicians require expertise in many areas of math and science, physical intuition, common sense, and
collaboration. The common approach in applied math is to build a mathematical model of a phenomenon, solve the model, and
develop recommendations for performance improvement.

While not necessarily an opposite to applied mathematics, pure mathematics is driven by abstract problems, rather than real
world problems. Much of what's pursued by pure mathematicians can have their roots in concrete physical problems, but a
deeper understanding of these phenomena brings about problems and technicalities. These abstract problems and technicalities
are what pure mathematics attempts to solve, and these attempts have led to major discoveries for mankind, including the
Universal Turing Machine, theorized by Alan Turing in 1937. The Universal Turing Machine, which began as an abstract idea,
later laid the groundwork for the development of the modern computer. Pure mathematics is abstract and based in theory, and
is thus not constrained by the limitations of the physical world.

According to one pure mathematician, pure mathematicians prove theorems, and applied mathematicians construct theories.
Pure and applied are not mutually exclusive, but they are rooted in different areas of math and problem solving. Though the
complex math involved in pure and applied mathematics is beyond the understanding of most average Americans, the solutions
developed from the processes have affected and improved the lives of all.

Definitions of Math

Mathematics is the study of numbers, shapes and patterns. The word comes from the Greek word "μάθημα" (máthema),
meaning "science, knowledge, or learning", and is sometimes shortened to maths (in England, Australia, Ireland, and
New Zealand) or math (in the United States and Canada).

Mathematics is the science that deals with the logic of shape, quantity and arrangement. Math is all around us, in
everything we do. It is the building block for everything in our daily lives, including mobile devices, architecture (ancient
and modern), art, money, engineering, and even sports. Some of its major subdivisions are arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, and calculus.

2. Patterns and Numbers of Math

SYMMETRY
Mathematically, symmetry means that one shape becomes exactly like
another when you move it in some way: turn, flip or slide. For two objects to be
symmetrical, they must be the same size and shape, with one object having a
different orientation from the first. There can also be symmetry in one object, such
as a face.
Symmetry is pervasive in living things. Animals mainly have bilateral
or mirror symmetry, as do the leaves of plants and some flowers such
as orchids. Plants often have radial or rotational symmetry, as do many flowers
and some groups of animals such as sea anemones. Fivefold symmetry is found in
the echinoderms, the group that includes starfish, sea urchins, and sea lilies.
Among non-living things, snowflakes have striking sixfold symmetry; each
flake's structure forms a record of the varying conditions during its crystallization,
with nearly the same pattern of growth on each of its six arms. Crystals in general
have a variety of symmetries and crystal habits; they can be cubic or octahedral,
but true crystals cannot have fivefold symmetry (unlike quasicrystals). Rotational
 symmetry is found at different scales among non-living things, including the crown-shaped splash pattern formed when
a drop falls into a pond, and both the spheroidal shape and rings of a planet like Saturn.
Example: Snowflakes

FRACTAL
A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns
that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple
process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals
are images of dynamic systems – the pictures of Chaos. Geometrically, they exist in
between our familiar dimensions. Fractal patterns are extremely familiar, since
nature is full of fractals. For instance: trees, rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds,
seashells, hurricanes, etc. Abstract fractals – such as the Mandelbrot Set – can be
generated by a computer calculating a simple equation over and over.
Fractals are infinitely self-similar, iterated mathematical constructs
having fractal dimension. Infinite iteration is not possible in nature so all 'fractal'
patterns are only approximate. Fractal-like patterns occur widely in nature, in
phenomena as diverse as clouds, river networks, geologic fault lines, mountains,
coastlines, animal coloration, snow flakes, crystals, blood vessel branching, actin
cytoskeleton, and ocean waves.
Example: Trees

SPIRALS
A curve which turns around some central point, getting further away, or
closer, as it goes. Spirals are common in plants and in some animals, notably
molluscs. For example, in the nautilus, a cephalopod mollusc, each chamber of its
shell is an approximate copy of the next one, scaled by a constant factor and
arranged in a logarithmic spiral. Given a modern understanding of fractals, a
growth spiral can be seen as a special case of self-similarity.
Example: Fibonacci shell

CHAOS, MEANDER
Chaos is a form of order that lacks
predictability, pattern and order.
A meander or closed meander is a self-
avoiding closed curve which intersects a
line a number of times. Intuitively, a
meander can be viewed as a road crossing a
river through a number of bridges.
Example: snake and gastropod mollusk’s
shell
 WAVES, DUNES
Waves are disturbances that carry energy as they move. Mechanical waves
propagate through a medium – air or water, making it oscillate as they pass by.
Wind waves are sea surface waves that create the characteristic chaotic pattern
of any large body of water, though their statistical behaviour can be predicted
with wind wave models. As waves in water or wind pass over sand, they create
patterns of ripples. When winds blow over large bodies of sand, they create
dunes, sometimes in extensive dune fields as in the Taklamakan desert. Dunes
may form a range of patterns including crescents, very long straight lines, stars,
domes, parabolas, and longitudinal or seif ('sword') shapes.
Example: ocean waves

BUBBLES, FOAM
A soap bubble forms a sphere, a surface with minimal area — the
smallest possible surface area for the volume enclosed. Two bubbles together
form a more complex shape: the outer surfaces of both bubbles are spherical;
these surfaces are joined by a third spherical surface as the smaller bubble
bulges slightly into the larger one.

A foam is a mass of bubbles; foams of different materials occur in

nature. Foams composed of soap films obey Plateau’s laws, which require three
soap films to meet at each edge at 120° and four soap edges to meet at each
vertex at the tetrahedral angle of about 109.5°.

Example: soap bubbles

TESSELLATIONS

Tessellations are patterns formed by repeating tiles all over a flat

surface. There are 17 wallpaper groups of tilings. While common in art and
design, exactly repeating tilings are less easy to find in living things. The cells in
the paper nests of social wasps, and the wax cells in honeycomb built by honey
bees are well-known examples. Among animals, bony fish, reptiles or the
pangolin, or fruits like the salak are protected by overlapping scales or
osteoderms, these form more-or-less exactly repeating units, though often the
scales in fact vary continuously in size. Among flowers, the snake's head
fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris, have a tessellated chequerboard pattern on their
petals. The structures of minerals provide good examples of regularly repeating
three-dimensional arrays. Despite the hundreds of thousands of known
minerals, there are rather few possible types of arrangement of atoms in a
crystal, defined by crystal structure, crystal system, and point group; for example, there are exactly 14 Bravais lattices for the 7
lattice systems in three-dimensional space.
Example: overlapping scales of snakefruit
CRACKS
Cracks are linear openings that form in materials to relieve stress. When an
elastic material stretches or shrinks uniformly, it eventually reaches its
breaking strength and then fails suddenly in all directions, creating cracks with
120 degree joints, so three cracks meet at a node. Conversely, when an inelastic
material fails, straight cracks form to relieve the stress. Further stress in the
same direction would then simply open the existing cracks; stress at right
angles can create new cracks, at 90 degrees to the old ones. Thus the pattern of
cracks indicates whether the material is elastic or not.
Example: Cooled basalt at Giant's Causeway. Vertical mainly 120°
cracks giving hexagonal columns
 SPOTS, STRIPES
A spot is a small round or roundish mark, differing in color or texture from the surface
around it. A stripe is a long narrow band or strip, typically of the same width throughout its
length, differing in color or texture from the surface on either side of it.
Leopards and ladybirds are spotted; angelfish and zebras are striped. These patterns
have an evolutionary explanation: they have functions which increase the chances that the
offspring of the patterned animal will survive to reproduce.
One function of animal patterns is camouflage; for instance, a leopard that is harder to
see catches more prey. Another function is signalling — for instance, a ladybird is less likely to
be attacked by predatory birds that hunt by sight, if it has bold warning colours, and is also
distastefully bitter or poisonous, or mimics other distasteful insects.
Example: stripes of a zebra
Number Patterns in Math
Arithmetic Sequence
A sequence is group of numbers that follow a pattern based on a specific rule. An arithmetic sequence involves a
sequence of numbers to which the same amount has been added or subtracted. The amount that is added or subtracted is known
as the common difference. For example, in the sequence “1, 4, 7, 10, 13…” each number has been added to 3 in order to derive
the succeeding number. The common difference for this sequence is 3.
Geometric Sequence
A geometric sequence is a list of numbers that are multiplied (or divided) by the same amount. The amount by which
the numbers are multiplied is known as the common ratio. For example, in the sequence “2, 4, 8, 16, 32...” each number is
multiplied by 2. The number 2 is the common ratio for this geometric sequence.
Triangular Numbers
The numbers in a sequence are referred to as terms. The terms of a triangular sequence are related to the number of
dots needed to create a triangle. You would begin forming a triangle with three dots; one on top and two on bottom. The next
row would have three dots, making a total of six dots. The next row in the triangle would have four dots, making a total of 10
dots. The following row would have five dots, for a total of 15 dots. Therefore, a triangular sequence begins: “1, 3, 6, 10, 15…”)
Square Numbers
In a square number sequence, the terms are the squares of their position in the sequence. A square sequence would
begin with “1, 4, 9, 16, 25…”
Cube Numbers
In a cube number sequence, the terms are the cubes of their position in the sequence. Therefore, a cube sequence starts
with “1, 8, 27, 64, 125…”
Fibonacci Numbers
In a Fibonacci number sequence, the terms are found by adding the two previous terms. The Fibonacci sequence begins
thusly, “0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…” The Fibonacci sequence is named for Leonardo Fibonacci, born in 1170 in Pisa, Italy. Fibonacci
introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to Europeans with the publication of his book “Liber Abaci” in 1202. He also introduced the
Fibonacci sequence, which was already known to Indian mathematicians. The sequence is important, because it appears in many
places in nature, including: plant leafing patterns, spiral galaxy patterns, and the chambered nautilus’ measurements.
3. Mathematicians with their contributions
Isaac Newton
Newton not only discovered calculus but
he is also credited for the discovery of the
generalised binomial theorem. This
theorem describes the algebraic
expansion of powers of a binomial. He also
contributed to the theory of finite
differences.
Archimedes made his greatest
contributions in geometry. His methods
anticipated the integral calculus 2,000
years before Newton and Leibniz. ...
Among Archimedes most famous works is
Measurement of the Circle, in which he
determined the exact value of to be
between the values
Carl F. Gauss
Discovered non-Euclidean geometry. He
was a pioneer in many
areas of modern mathematics.
Leonhard Euler invented the calculus of
variations including its most well-known
result, the Euler–Lagrange equation.
Modern calculus textbooks derive from
his works on calculus. He is also
responsible for many modern symbols,
such as f(x), e, i, π.
Bernhard Riemann
Through his pioneering contributions to
differential geometry, Riemann laid the
foundations of the mathematics of
general relativity.
Henri Poincaré was one of the last
universal mathematicians. He made
contributions to the theory of complex
functions, to number theory, algebraic
and differential geometry, and to many
branches of applied mathematics,
including celestial mechanics.
Joseph-Louis Lagrange made major
contributions to the development of
physics, celestial mechanics, calculus,
algebra, number theory, and group
theory. He gave us the familiar notation
f′(x) to represent a function’s derivative,
f′′(x) a second derivative, etc., and indeed
it was he who gave us the word derivative.
Euclid was an ancient Greek
mathematician from Alexandria who is
best known for his major work, Elements.
Euclid's vital contribution was to gather,
compile, organize, and rework the
mathematical concepts of his
predecessors into a consistent whole,
later to become known as Euclidean
geometry.
Rene Descartes
Developed analytic geometry. He used a
sophisticated symbolic
algebra to show how algebra can be
used to solve geometry
problems and how algebra problems
can be solved with geometry.
Karl W. T. Weierstrass
Known as the father of modern analysis,
Weierstrass devised tests for the
convergence of series and contributed
to the theory of periodic functions,
functions of real variables, elliptic
functions, Abelian functions, converging
infinite products, and the calculus of
variations.
Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of
India's greatest mathematical geniuses.
He made substantial contributions to
the analytical theory of numbers and
worked on elliptic functions, continued
fractions, and infinite series.
Hermann Weyl was a great and
versatile mathematician of the 20th
century. His work had a vast range,
encompassing analysis, algebra, number
theory, topology, differential geometry,
spacetime theory, quantum mechanics,
and the foundations of mathematics.
Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet was
a German mathematician who made deep
contributions to number theory (including
creating the field of analytic number theory),
and to the theory of Fourier series and other
topics in mathematical analysis; he is
credited with being one of the first
mathematicians to give the modern formal
definition of a function.
made pioneering Niels Abel
contributions in a variety of fields. His
most famous single result is the first
complete proof demonstrating the
impossibility of solving the general
quintic equation in radicals.
Georg Cantor was a German
mathematician who founded set theory
and introduced the mathematically
meaningful concept of transfinite
numbers, indefinitely large but distinct
from one another.
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi was a German
mathematician active in many fields of
mathematics. He is primarily
remembered for his contributions to
number theory and his work with
elliptic functions. His Opuscula
Mathematica (Collected Mathematical
Works) was published in 1846.
David Hilbert is a German
mathematician who reduced geometry to
a series of axioms and contributed
substantially to the establishment of the
formalistic foundations of mathematics.
Gottfried Leibniz's major contribution to
mathematics was his discovery of the
binary numeral system, or the base-2
system, which we find today in computers
and related devices. The binary numeral
system is a way of writing numbers using
only two digits: 0 and 1.
Alexander Grothendieck was the focal
point in the launching of the modern
Theory of Algebraic Geometry; this
included commutative algebra,
homological algebra, sheaf theory, and
category theory. ... He managed to
introduce his theory of schemes at the
International Congress of Mathematicians
in 1958.
Pierre de Fermat developed analytic
geometry. He showed how a geometric
curve, such as a conic section, could be
drawn on a coordinate grid from
an algebra equation. He also made
important contributions to
number theory, including the famous
“Fermat’s Last Theorem”
Évariste Galois
Among his many contributions, Galois
founded abstract algebra and group
theory, which are fundamental to
computer science, physics, coding theory
and cryptography.
John von Neumann
Designed the fundamental structure of
modern computer design,
known as the “von Neumann
architecture”. He also invented a
branch of mathematics known as “game
theory”.
Brahmagupta was the one to give the
area of a triangle and the important
rules of trigonometry such as values of
the sin function. He introduced the
formula for cyclic quadrilaterals. He also
gave the value of 'Pi' as square root ten
to be accurate and 3 as the practical
value.
Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy was a
French mathematician, engineer, and
physicist who made pioneering
contributions to several branches of
mathematics, including mathematical
analysis and continuum mechanics.
Arthur Cayley made important
contributions to the algebraic theory of
curves and surfaces, group theory, linear
algebra, graph theory, combinatorics,
and elliptic functions. He formalized the
theory of matrices. Among Cayley’s most
important papers were his series of 10
“Memoirs on Quantics”. A quantic, known
today as an algebraic form, is a polynomial
with the same total degree for each term
Amalie Emmy Noether was
a German mathematician who made
important contributions to abstract
algebra and theoretical physics. she
developed the theories of rings, fields,
and algebras.
Pythagoras is most famous for his
concept of geometry. It is believed that
he was first to establish that the sum of
the angles of a triangle is equal to two
right angles and that for a right-angled
triangle the square on the hypotenuse is
equal to the sum of the squares on the
other two sides.
Aryabhatta is among the
mathematicians who brought new
deductions and theories in mathematics
and astronomy. His contribution to the
mathematics is unmatched and cannot
be ignored, as he was the one who
deduced the approximate value of pi,
which he found it to be 3.14.
Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci was an
Italian number theorist. He introduced
the world to such wide-
ranging mathematical concepts as what is
now known as the Arabic numbering
system, the concept of square roots,
number sequencing, and even math word
problems.
Sir William Rowan Hamilton was an
Irish mathematician who contributed to
the development of optics, dynamics, and
algebra—in particular, discovering the
algebra of quaternions. His work proved
significant for the development of
quantum mechanics.
Apollonius was a Greek mathematician
known as 'The Great Geometer'. His works
had a very great influence on the
development of mathematics and his
famous book Conics introduced the terms
parabola, ellipse and hyperbola.
Charles Hermite made important
contributions to number theory and
algebra, orthogonal polynomials, and
elliptic functions.
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Not only had he made major contributions
to difference equations and differential
equations but he had examined
applications to mathematical astronomy
and to the theory of probability, two
major topics which he would work on
throughout his life.
Carl Ludwig Siegel was a German
mathematician specialising in analytic
number theory. He is known for, amongst
other things, his contributions to the
Thue–Siegel–Roth theorem in
Diophantine approximation and the
Siegel mass formula for quadratic forms.
Johannes Kepler developed accurate
methods of calculating the size of areas
within curved lines. Kepler also
contributed to other areas in math. A
document of his contained a number
system based on Roman numerals. He
used the numbers 1,3,9, and 27 as I, V, X,
and L. In this system, the number 20
would equal 27-9+3-1.
Diophantus is often called “the father of
algebra" because he contributed greatly
to number theory, mathematical notation,
and because Arithmetica contains the
earliest known use of syncopated
notation.
Muhammed al-Khowârizmi his most
important contribution to mathematics was
his strong advocacy of the Hindu numerical
system, which Al-Khwarizmi recognized as
having the power and efficiency needed to
revolutionize Islamic and Western
mathematics. The Hindu numerals 1 - 9 and 0
- which have since become known as Hindu-
Arabic numerals - were soon adopted by the
entire Islamic world.
Kurt Gödel
He developed a technique which is now
called Gödel numbering. He had proven
that the continuum hypothesis and the
axiom of choice can be disproved.
Besides, he helped considerably in the
development of the proof theory.
Julius Wilhelm Richard Dedekind
was a German mathematician who made
important contributions to abstract
algebra (particularly ring theory),
axiomatic foundation for the natural
numbers, algebraic number theory and
the definition of the real numbers.
Felix Christian Klein was a noted 19th
century German mathematician known for
his contribution to group theory, complex
analysis, non-Euclidean geometry and for
his creation of Erlangen Program. ... Here,
at the age of 22, he published two
important papers on Euclidean and non-
Euclidean geometry.
Leonardo Da Vinci was someone who
used his knowledge of mathematics to
create a number of drawings that show
what were thought to be the ideal
human proportions. One of his best-
known works on human proportions
was the 'Vitruvian Man'. It is a visual
image of the perfect human form
through the use of mathematics.
Blaise Pascal is known for
contributing Pascal's triangle and
probability theory. He also invented
an early digital calculator and a
roulette machine.
Élie Joseph Cartan was an influential
French mathematician who did
fundamental work in the theory of Lie
groups, differential systems
(coordinate-free geometric formulation
of PDEs), and differential geometry.
Archytas was an Ancient Greek
philosopher, mathematician,
astronomer, statesman, and strategist.
He was a scientist of the Pythagorean
school and famous for being the reputed
founder of mathematical mechanics, as
well as a good friend of Plato.
Godfrey Harold Hardy
Known for his achievement in number
theory, Godfrey Harold “G. H.” Hardy was
an eminent twentieth century English
mathematician. He also expanded the
domain of mathematical analysis.
Alhazen ibn al-Haytham
built on the mathematical works of Euclid
and Thabit ibn Qurra and worked on "the
beginnings of the link between algebra
and geometry". He developed a formula
for summing the first 100 natural
numbers, using a geometric proof to
prove the formula.
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
He made several contributions to
mathematics, including a suggestion
for a theory of limits. He was one of
the first to appreciate the importance
of functions.
Félix-Édouard-Justin-Émile was a
French mathematician who created
the first effective theory of the
measure of sets of points and who
shares credit with René-Louis Baire
and Henri Lebesgue of France for
launching the modern theory of
functions of a real variable.
Julius Plücker was a Prussian geometer
who advanced concepts in analytic
geometry. In his work he developed the
analytic side of projective geometry.. In
his 1835 book, System of Analytic
Geometry, above, he provided a complete
classification of cubic curves based on
their points of projection at infinity.
Hipparchus was a Greek astronomer and
mathematician who discovered the
precession of the equinoxes, calculated
the length of the year to within 6 1/2
minutes, compiled the first known star
catalog, and made an early formulation of
trigonometry.
Andrey Nikolayevich Kolmogorov was
a Russian mathematician whose work
influenced many branches of modern
mathematics, especially harmonic
analysis, probability, set theory,
information theory, and number theory.
Joseph Liouville was a French
mathematician known for his work in
analysis, differential geometry, and
number theory and for his discovery of
transcendental numbers—i.e., numbers
that are not the roots of algebraic
equations having rational coefficients.
Eudoxus of Cnidus was a Greek
astronomer who made important
contributions to the field of geometry.
He is thought to have contributed to the
theory of proportion that can be applied
to irrational numbers.
Ferdinand Gotthold Max Eisenstein
was a German mathematician who
made important contributions to
number theory.
Jacob Bernoulli
His first important contributions were a
pamphlet on the parallels of logic and
algebra published in 1685, work on
probability in 1685 and geometry in
1687. His geometry result gave a
construction to divide any triangle into
four equal parts with two perpendicular
lines.
Stefan Banach founded modern
functional analysis and made major
contributions to the theory of
topological vector spaces. In addition, he
contributed to measure theory,
integration, the theory of sets, and
orthogonal series. In his dissertation,
written in 1920, he defined
axiomatically what today is called a
Banach space.
Jacques Salomon Hadamard was a
French mathematician who made major
contributions in number theory,
complex analysis, differential geometry
and partial differential equations.
Giuseppe Peano was a founder of
mathematical logic and set theory, to which
he contributed much notation. The standard
axiomatization of the natural numbers is
named the Peano axioms in his honor. As part
of this effort, he made key contributions to
the modern rigorous and systematic
treatment of the method of mathematical
induction.
Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian who
gave a comprehensive and scientific
theory of phonetics, phonology, and
morphology. ... Joseph goes on to make a
convincing argument for the algebraic
nature of Indian mathematics arising as
a consequence of the structure of the
Sanskrit language.
Andre Weil made fundamental
contributions to algebraic geometryand
algebraic topology. Weil believed that
many fundamental theorems in number
theory and algebra had analogous
formulations in algebraic geometry and
topology.
Jean-Pierre Serre is a French
mathematician who has made
contributions to algebraic topology,
algebraic geometry, and algebraic number
theory.
Jakob Steiner was a Swiss mathematician
who specialized in geometry. Considered
one of the greatest pure geometers who
ever lived, he introduced the concept of
geometric forms, perfected the theory of
duality in geometry, and contributed
much to the development of modern
projective geometry.
Marius Sophus Lie was a Norwegian
mathematician. He largely created the
theory of continuous symmetry and
applied it to the study of geometry and
differential equations.
Gottlob Frege founded modern
mathematical logic. Working on the
borderline between philosophy and
mathematics, Frege discovered, on his
own, the fundamental ideas that have
made possible the whole modern
development of logic and thereby
invented an entire discipline.
Christiaan Huygens was a Girolamo Cardano was the first
mathematician, physicist and astronomer
who formulated the wave theory of light.
He also discovered the pendulum clock,
centrifugal force and the true shape of the
rings of Saturn.
François Viète. Vieta made significant
contributions to trigonometry, algebra,
and geometry. His first published work,
the Canon mathematicus [Canon, 1579]
has trigonometric tables computed to 9
decimal places, and contains a systematic
collection of trigonometric formulas.
Camille Jordan is best remembered today for
his proof that a simply closed curve divides a
plane into exactly two regions, now called the
Jordan curve theorem. It was only his increased
understanding of mathematical rigour which
made him realise that a proof of such a result
was necessary. He also originated the concept
of functions of bounded variation and is known
especially for his definition of the length of a
curve.
Diophantus is often called “the father of
algebra" because he contributed greatly
to number theory, mathematical notation,
and because Arithmetica contains the
earliest known use of syncopated
notation.
Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri was an
Italian mathematician and a Jesuate. He is
known for his work on the problems of optics
and motion, work on indivisibles, the
precursors of infinitesimal calculus, and the
introduction of logarithms to Italy.
Hermann Günther Grassmann was a
German mathematician chiefly
remembered for his development of a
general calculus of vectors.
Albert Einstein contributed several
equations to calculus and geometry, ten
of which are called the Einstein Field
Equations. He first published these
equations in 1915. One of these
equations demonstrates how stress-
energy inflicts curvature of space-time.
Henry John Stephen Smith was a
British mathematician. He was a
lecturer in mathematics (1850–73) and,
from 1860 to 1883, Savilian professor of
geometry at Oxford. He is especially
noted for his work on the theory of
numbers and on elliptic functions.
mathematician to make systematic use
of negative numbers. He published with
attribution the solution of Scipione del
Ferro to the cubic equation and the
solution of his student Lodovico Ferrari
to the quartic equation in his 1545 book
Ars Magna.
Edward Witten developed an
interest in what is now known as
superstring theory in mathematical
physics. He made significant
contributions to Morse theory,
supersymmetry, and knot theory.
Ptolemy invented a planetary system
that was adopted as truth by the
Christian church in Medieval Europe. In
this system the Earth does
not move and the planets, moon, stars
and the Sun revolve around
the Earth in circular paths with constant
motion. This was
described in his book the Almagest.
Michael Atiyah contributed, along with
others, to the development of the theory of
complex manifolds—i.e., generalizations
of Riemann surfaces to several variables.
He also worked on algebraic topology,
algebraic varieties, complex analysis, the
Yang-Mills equations and gauge theory,
and superstring theory in mathematical
physics
Atle Selberg was a Norwegian
mathematician known for his work in
analytic number theory and the theory of
automorphic forms, and in particular for
bringing them into relation with spectral
theory.
Alfred Tarski made important
contributions in many areas of
mathematics: set theory, measure theory,
topology, geometry, classical and
universal algebra, algebraic logic, various
branches of formal logic and
metamathematics. ... He worked on model
theory, mathematical decision problems
and with universal algebra.
Gaspard Monge was a French
mathematician who invented descriptive
geometry, the study of the mathematical
principles of representing three-
dimensional objects in a two-dimensional
plane; no longer an active discipline in
mathematics, the subject is part of
mechanical and architectural drawing.
L. E. J. Brouwer but known to his friends
as Bertus, was a Dutch mathematician and
philosopher, who worked in topology, set
theory, measure theory and complex
analysis. He was the founder of the
mathematical philosophy of intuitionism.
Liu Hui expressed all of his mathematical
results in the form of decimal fractions
(using metrological units), yet the later
Yang Hui (c. 1238-1298 AD) expressed his
mathematical results in full decimal
expressions. Liu provided commentary on
a mathematical proof of a theorem
identical to the Pythagorean theorem.
Alan Turing's main contribution to
mathematics, however, was his work on
computation theory. Presaging the
invention of the modern computer, Turing
designed an abstract computing device
known as the Turing machine — an entirely
virtual construct which could perform
calculations and follow instructions.
Jean-Victor Poncelet was a French
geometer who conceived of much of the
theory of modern projective geometry.
While confined as a Russian prisoner during
the Napoleonic War of 1812, Poncelet
perfected his concepts for projective
geometry.
John Edensor Littlewood was an English
mathematician. He worked on topics
relating to analysis, number theory, and
differential equations, and had a lengthy
collaboration with G. H. Hardy.
“More than any other mathematician,
Shiing-Shen Chern defined the subject
of global differential geometry, a central
area in contemporary mathematics. In
work that spanned almost seven
decades, he helped to shape large areas
of modern mathematics.
James Joseph Sylvester was an
English mathematician. He made
fundamental contributions to matrix
theory, invariant theory, number
theory, partition theory, and
combinatorics.
Henri Léon Lebesgue was a French
mathematician known for his theory of
integration, which was a generalization
of the 17th-century concept of
integration—summing the area
between an axis and the curve of a
function defined for that axis.
Johann Bernoulli is credited for his
works and contributions to calculus.
Although he went to school to study
medicine, mathematics was his true
passion. He and his brother uncovered
the mysteries of calculus and the
derivative. They became experts in
infinitesimal calculus.
Ernst Kummer made major contributions
to function theory and number theory. In
function theory he extended Gauss's work
on hypergeometric series. In number
theory, he proposed the concept of "ideal"
numbers which later led to the theory of
rings which is the foundation of modern
algebraic number theory.
Johann H. Lambert was an especially
gifted and imaginative mathematician. His
contributions to the discipline were many,
but among the most important were these:
he was the first to produce a rigorous
proof that π is an irrational number, and he
devised the first systematic development
of the theory of hyperbolic functions.
George Polya can rightly be called the
father of problem solving in
mathematics education. He made
important contributions to probability
theory, number theory, the theory of
functions, and the calculus of variations.
Felix Hausdorff was a German
mathematician who is considered to be
one of the founders of modern topology
and who contributed significantly to set
theory, descriptive set theory, measure
theory, function theory, and functional
analysis.
George D. Birkhoff developed his own
theory of gravitation which was published
shortly before he died, and he constructed
a mathematical theory of aesthetics,
which he applied to art, music, and poetry.
Pafnuti Chebyshev mathematical
contributions include number theory,
geometry, quadratic forms, and the theory
of integrals. To students of probability
and statistics, Chebyshev is best known
for the inequality that gives an upper
bound on the probability of a large
deviation from the mean.
Adrien-Marie Legendre was a French
mathematician whose distinguished work
on elliptic integrals provided basic
analytic tools for mathematical physics.
John Forbes Nash Jr. was an American
mathematician who made fundamental
contributions to game theory, differential
geometry, and the study of partial
differential equations.
Siméon Denis Poisson's Contributions
to Mathematics. On June 21, 1781,
French mathematician, geometer, and
physicist Siméon Denis Poisson was
born. He is known known for his work
on definite integrals, advances in
Fourier series, electromagnetic theory,
and probability.
John Wallis's contributions in many
branches of mathematics are of great
significance. He made advances in
trigonometry, geometry and calculus.
He is also credited for analyzing the
infinite series.
Henri Léon Lebesgue was a French
mathematician known for his theory of
integration, which was a generalization
of the 17th-century concept of
integration—summing the area
between an axis and the curve of a
function defined for that axis.
Thales is the first Greek known to have
used proof and strict logical
reasoning to solve mathematical
questions.