Top 12 most famous Mathematicians
Mathematics is a subject that every one of us has studied in our life. Without the knowledge of math, we would not be able to do anything. If we do not know how to calculate percentages we would not be able to compare the marks of the students. On the contrary, if we do not know how to do simple addition or subtraction things would become tougher for us. Therefore, mathematics is one of the most important aspects of our life. Even when we are doing economical statistics or even in sciences, mathematics has a significant role to play. But one thing that we do not know is who invented mathematical theories. There was not a single person but a lot of people who were behind bringing various mathematical theories and innovations.
Quick Takeaways
1. Srinivasa Ramanujan
- Some of the top famous mathematicians are –
2. Pythagoras
3. Archimedes
4. Euclid
5. Diophantus
6. Ptolemy
7. Hipparchus
8. Charles Babbage
9. Aryabhata
10. Hypatia
11. Diocles
12. Ada Lovelace
However, you must read till the end so that you do not miss any important facts related to these famous mathematicians.
List of most famous mathematicians
There are a lot of various mathematics books for various classes. But you need to know who were the people behind these theories and facts. Following are the names of the most important mathematicians in the world –
1. Srinivasa Ramanujan
- Born: December 22, 1887
- Died: April 26, 1920
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a brilliant self-taught Indian mathematician who made significant contributions to number theory, continuous fractions, and analysis in math. He came from a modest background and struggled with poverty. Though he was able to publish one of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. Later, his partnership with English mathematician G. H. Hardy was highly successful.
2. Pythagoras
- Born: c. 570
- Died: c. 495
One of the most used theorems that we have been studying since our school time is the Pythagoras theorem. You must have used it while finding out the length of one side of a right-angled triangle. Although this is one of the prominent theorems in mathematics, most of us do not know who invented it. The father of Pythagoras’ theorem was the Greek mathematician Pythagoras. The theorem name was kept in the name of Pythagoras. According to his bibliography, he was the first person to give a theory of proportions and five regular solids. It is said that he has also contributed to the field of music as well as astrology.
3. Archimedes
- Born: 0287 BC
- Died: 0212 BC
Archimedes is recognized for his contributions to mathematics, particularly geometry. He was a Greek mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He established theorems relating to the volume and area of a sphere, as well as the area and circumference of a circle. He also arrived at an exact value for pi and created tools like the screw pump.
4. Euclid
- Born: Mid-4th Century
- Died: Mid-3rd Century
He is again a Greek Mathematician who was known as the father of Geometry. Till the late 19th century famous written book, Elements were used to teach Geometry. He has given all his life years to mathematics and has brought a revolution in Geometry. His other work includes Conics and Porisms. He also has done work in mechanics. The European Space Agency also kept the name of its spacecraft based in his honor.
5. Diophantus
- Born: AD 200
- Died: AD 284
Because of the simplicity and originality of his algebraic equations, he earned the title “Father of Algebra.” He published several books on algebra. He eventually became well-known for his book Arithmetica, which provided explanations of the optimal solutions to all algebraic equations.
6. Ptolemy
- Born: 100 AD
- Died: 170 AD
Ptolemy was a great Mathematician, geographer, writer, etc. He has worked a lot in mathematics including geometry. Ptolemy has also written a lot of books out of which his best creation was Almagest. He was the one who derived the geometrical models of Hipparchus for the sun, moon, and planets. The Sun is in the middle of the universe and was also first determined by him.
7. Hipparchus
- Born: 190 BC
- Died: 120 BC
Trigonometry chapters are as crucial for classes IX and X as Geometry chapters are. Hipparchus was an excellent mathematician who was the founder of trigonometry. He made the initial mathematical trigonometric table. He was the first to create a method for predicting solar eclipses.
8. Charles Babbage
- Born: December 26, 1791
- Died: October 18, 1871
The Difference Engine, the first mechanical calculator all over the world, was created by Charles Babbage. He is known as the “father of the computer.” He also developed the Analytical Engine with the assistance of mathematician Ada Lovelace. Other events done by him are the forerunner of the contemporary computer with sequencing function.
9. Aryabhata
- Born: 476 CE
- Died: 550 CE
Aryabhata was a famous Indian mathematician and astronomer. One of their most important inventions made by him was the invention of the digit 0. He was the one who found the value of a pie up to 4 decimal numbers and proved that the pie is an irrational number. Other areas where he worked were the determination of square roots and cubes, menstruations, quadratic equations, etc. Aryabhatiya and Arya – Sidhanta were other famous works of his. His detailed work on trigonometry was also included in the Islamic Golden Age.
10. Hypatia
- Born: 350-370 AD
- Died: 415 AD
Hypatia was the first woman to work in and give importance to a mathematician. She inspired many women in the field of Mathematics. In Alexandria’s history, she was a popular mathematics teacher and was the first one to give commentary on Diophantus’s thirteen-volume Arithmetica. One of her famous methods of the algorithm is needed for astronomical calculations.
11. Diocles
- Born: 240 BC
- Died: 180 BC
Diocles was a famous mathematician who worked a lot in the field of geometry. In various geometry books, the geometry curves are known in his name as the Cissoid of Diocles. Also, the method of Cissoid of Diocles was used to determine the problem of doubling cubes. He was the first mathematician to work on focal property on the Parabola.
12. Ada Lovelace
- Born: 10 December 1815
- Died: 27 November 1852
Ada was the one who provided commentary on the famous work of Charles Babbage on mechanical computers. She was the first person who found that this machine can perform beyond calculations. Also, she gave the first algorithm to work beyond the calculations. Due to this reason, she is many times considered the first computer programmer.
Conclusion
Mathematics played an important role in various studies and even in our life. Without knowing the fundamentals of mathematics we are unable to work properly. Therefore it becomes crucial to know about the famous mathematicians who are behind the basic theories and mathematics fundamental theorems.
