You probably have already heard of some of the following mathematicians, maybe all of them. You may even be familiar with their work. But can you tell in which century/ies they lived or still live, and which country they come from? The photos may give you some hints.
Mathematician | Photo | Some key contributions |
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Abel |
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algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 5; group theory (abstract algebra); Abelian integrals (integral calculus); elliptic integrals (integral calculus) |
al-Khwarizmi |
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algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; arithmetic; Hindu-Arabic numeral system |
Apollonius of Perga | conic sections (geometry); book "Conics" | |
Appell |
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Appell series; differential equations; Appell sequence (polynomials); elliptic functions |
Archimedes |
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geometry; volumes of solids of revolution; trigonometry; Archimedean spiral |
Arnold |
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differential equations; dynamical systems; KAM theorem (integrable systems); catastrophe theory; mathematical physics |
Artin |
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Artinian rings (abstract algebra); algebraic number theory (abstract algebra); Galois theory; braid theory (topology) |
Aryabhata |
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algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations; trigonometry |
Banach |
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Banach space (functional analysis); Banach algebra (functional analysis); Banach-Tarski paradox (topology) |
Bayes |
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Bayesian probability (probability theory) |
Beltrami |
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non-Euclidean geometry; Beltrami–Klein model (geometry); Singular value decomposition (matrix theory) |
Bernoulli, Daniel |
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probability theory |
Bernoulli, Jacob |
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Bernoulli numbers; constant e; Bernoulli distribution; Bernoulli differential equation |
Bernoulli, Johann |
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infinitesimal calculus |
Bernoulli, Nicolaus II |
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St. Petersburg paradox (probability theory) |
Bessel |
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Bessel functions (special functions) |
Bézout |
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algebraic equations; Bézout's identity (number theory) |
Bhaskara II | algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations; Pell's equation | |
Bienaymé |
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Bienaymé-Chebyshev inequality (probability theory); Bienaymé formula (statistics) |
Binet |
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matrix multiplication; Cauchy-Binet formula (matrix theory); matrix algebra; Binet-Cauchy identity; Binet's Fibonacci number formula (number theory); Binet equation (differential equation) |
Bolyai |
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non-Euclidian geometry; complex analysis |
Bolzano |
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foundations of mathematics; limit of a function; Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem |
Boole |
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Boolean algebra; mathematical logic |
Borel |
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Borel set (topology); measure theory; probability theory |
Brahmagupta | algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations; Pell's equation; arithmetic; use of 0 | |
Brioschi |
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elliptic functions; polynomials of degree 5; polynomials of degree 6 |
Brouwer |
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topology; Brouwer's fixed-point theorem (algebraic topology); simplicial approximation theorem (algebraic topology); invariance of domain (topology) |
Cantor |
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foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; set theory; transfinite numbers; cardinal numbers; ordinal numbers; transcendental numbers |
Cardano |
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algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 3 |
Cartan |
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Cartan matrix; group theory (abstract algebra); Cartan decomposition (abstract algebra); Cartan's theorem (abstract algebra) |
Cauchy |
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foundations of mathematics; series; complex analysis; infinitesimal calculus; limit of a function; Cauchy sequence; continuity; Cauchy-Schwarz inequality; group theory (abstract algebra) |
Cayley |
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group theory (abstract algebra); Cayley's theorem (group theory); Cayley-Hamilton theorem (matrix theory); Cayley graph (graph theory); Cayley's formula (graph theory) |
Cesàro |
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differential geometry; Cesàro mean (divergent series) |
Chasles |
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Chasles's relation (geometry); cross-ratio (geometry); coined the term "homothety" |
Chebyshev |
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Chebyshev polynomials; orthogonal polynomials; Bienaymé-Chebyshev inequality (probability theory); Chebyshev function (number theory); Chebyshev's bias (number theory) |
Clairaut |
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Clairaut's equation (differential equation); Clairaut's relation (differential geometry) |
Cramer |
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Cramer's rule (matrix theory) |
D'Alembert |
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fundamental theorem of algebra; d'Alembertian |
Darboux |
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Darboux sums (integral calculus); Darboux integral (integral calculus); Darboux's formula (series and integral calculus); Euler-Poisson-Darboux equation (differential equations); differential geometry of surfaces |
Dedekind |
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foundations of mathematics; set theory; ring theory (abstract algebra); number theory |
Del Ferro | algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 3 | |
De Moivre |
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de Moivre's formula (trigonometry); Binet's formula (number theory); probability theory |
De Morgan |
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De Morgan's laws; mathematical logic; mathematical induction |
Descartes |
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Cartesian geometry; convention of using x, y, z etc. for unknowns in equations and a, b, c, etc. for knowns |
Dieudonné |
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Dieudonné module (abstract algebra); Dieudonné ring (abstract algebra); books |
Diophantus | algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations | |
Dirichlet |
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number theory; Dirichlet L-functions; Fourier series; continuity; Dirichlet integral (integral calculus) |
Dudeney |
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recreational mathematics |
Eisenstein |
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Eisenstein criterion (polynomials); quadratic reciprocity law; number theory |
Eratosthenes |
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sieve of Eratosthenes (number theory) |
Erdélyi | special functions; orthogonal polynomials; hypergeometric functions | |
Erdös |
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graph theory; number theory; Prime Number Theorem; probability theory |
Euclid |
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arithmetic; number theory; trigonometry; Euclidian geometry |
Eudoxus of Cnidus | geometry; method of exhaustion (integral calculus) | |
Euler |
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infinitesimal calculus; Seven Bridges of Königsberg (graph theory); number theory; Euler's totient function; power series; Euler-Maclaurin formula (series and integral calculus); transcendental numbers; concept of mathematical function |
Faltings |
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number theory; Mordell conjecture |
Faulhaber |
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Faulhaber's formula (sums of powers) |
Fejér | harmonic analysis; Fejér kernel (Fourier series); Fejér's theorem | |
Fermat |
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Diophantine equations; Pell's equation; Fermat's little theorem (number theory); Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares (number theory); Fermat numbers (number theory); Fermat's Last Theorem (number theory) |
Ferrari | algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 4 | |
Fibonacci |
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Fibonacci numbers; Hindu-Arabic numeral system |
Fourier |
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Fourier series; Fourier transform |
Fraenkel |
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mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms (set theory) |
Freedman |
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geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=4 |
Frobenius |
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elliptic functions; differential equations; Frobenius algebra (abstract algebra); Perron–Frobenius theorem (matrix theory) |
Galois |
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algebraic equations; polynomials of any degree; Galois theory |
Gardner |
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recreational mathematics |
Gauss |
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fundamental theorem of algebra; number theory; quadratic forms; modular arithmetic; convention of using ≡ for congruence; geometry; Gaussian curvature (differential geometry); differential geometry of surfaces; Gauss-Jordan elimination (matrix theory) |
Gelfand |
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group theory; representation theory; functional analysis |
Germain |
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number theory; Fermat's last theorem (number theory); differential equations |
Gödel |
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mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; Gödel's incompleteness theorems |
Goldbach | Goldbach's conjecture; Fermat numbers (number theory) | |
Green | Green's theorem (integral calculus); Green's identities (integral calculus) | |
Grothendieck |
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algebraic geometry; algebraic number theory (abstract algebra) |
Hadamard |
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prime number theorem (number theory); complex analysis; differential geometry; calculus of variations; differential equations |
Hamilton, Richard |
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differential geometry; Ricci flow (differential geometry) |
Hamilton, William |
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Hamiltonian; quaternions; hamiltonian paths (graph theory); Hamilton-Jacobi equation (differential equation) |
Hardy |
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number theory; analysis; Waring's problem; Hardy–Littlewood conjectures |
Hausdorff |
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Hausdorff space (topology); Hausdorff maximal principle (set theory); Hausdorff measure (measure theory) |
Hermite |
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Hermitian matrices; Hermite normal form; Hermite polynomials; Hermitian forms; transcendental numbers |
Heron of Alexandria |
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square roots; algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Heron's formula |
Hilbert |
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foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; Hilbert space; functional analysis; Hilbert's 23 problems |
Hipparchus |
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trigonometry |
Hölder |
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abstract algebra; classification of simple groups (group theory); Hölder's inequality (analysis); Hölder condition (analysis); Hölder's theorem (gamma function) |
Ito | probability theory; stochastic differential equations; Ito's lemma | |
Iwasawa | Iwasawa decomposition (abstract algebra); Iwasawa algebra (abstract algebra); Iwasawa theory (abstract algebra) | |
Jacobi |
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elliptic functions; Hamilton-Jacobi equation (differential equation); Jacobian matrix; Jacobian (determinant); Jacobi symbol |
Jordan, Camille |
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group theory (abstract algebra); Jordan matrix; Jordan's totient function; Jordan curve theorem (topology) |
Jordan, Wilhelm |
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Gauss-Jordan elimination (matrix theory) |
Klein |
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non-Euclidean geometry; Klein bottle (geometry); Erlangen program (geometry); Beltrami–Klein model (geometry); group theory (abstract algebra) |
Kolmogorov |
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probability theory; differential equations; KAM theorem (integrable systems); stochastic processes |
Kovalevskaya |
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Cauchy–Kowalevski theorem (differential equations); Abelian integrals (integral calculus) |
Kronecker |
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Kronecker δ; Kronecker product (matrix theory); Kronecker symbol (number theory); algebraic number theory (abstract algebra) |
L'Hôpital |
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L'Hôpital's rule (infinitesimal calculus) |
Lagrange |
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Lagrange's four-square theorem (number theory); calculus of variations; Euler-Lagrange equation (differential equation); Lagrange multipliers (mathematical optimization); Lagrangian |
Lang |
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abstract algebra; Diophantine geometry; modular forms; books |
Langlands | abstract algebra; Langlands program (algebra and analysis) | |
Laplace |
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Laplacian; Laplace transform; Bayesian probability (probability theory) |
Laurent | Laurent series (complex analysis); Laurent polynomial | |
Lebesgue |
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Lebesgue integration (integral calculus); measure theory |
Legendre |
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least squares method; Legendre polynomials; quadratic reciprocity law; elliptic functions; Legendre symbol |
Lehmer |
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number theory; primality tests; Lucas-Lehmer test; Mersenne primes |
Leibniz |
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infinitesimal calculus; convention of using d for differentials (infinitesimal calculus); convention of using an elongated S for integrals (integral calculus) |
Levi-Civita |
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tensor calculus; Hamilton–Jacobi equation |
Lie |
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Lie groups (abstract algebra); group theory (abstract algebra) |
Lions |
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nonlinear partial differential equations |
Liouville |
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number theory; complex analysis; Liouville's theorem; transcendental numbers; Liouville numbers; Sturm-Liouville theory |
Lipschitz |
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Lipschitz continuity condition; Dini-Lipschitz criterion |
Littlewood | number theory; analysis; Diophantine approximation; Waring's problem; Hardy–Littlewood conjectures | |
Lobachevsky |
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hyperbolic geometry (non-Euclidean geometry) |
Lucas |
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Diophantine equations; number theory; primality tests; Lucas sequences; Lucas numbers; Lucas-Lehmer test; Mersenne primes |
Lyapunov |
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differential equations; Lyapunov exponent (chaos theory); central limit theorem (probability theory) |
Maclaurin |
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Maclaurin series; Euler-Maclaurin formula (series and integral calculus) |
Manin |
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algebraic geometry; arithmetic topology; Diophantine geometry; Gauss-Manin connection |
Markov |
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Markov chains; Markov processes; stochastic processes |
Matiyasevich |
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Hilbert's tenth problem; Diophantine equations |
Mazur |
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geometric topology; arithmetic topology; Diophantine geometry |
Mersenne |
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Mersenne primes |
Minkowski |
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Minkowski inequality; number theory |
Mittag-Leffler |
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Mittag-Leffler function (special functions); Mittag-Leffler star (complex analysis); Mittag-Leffler's theorem (complex analysis); Mittag-Leffler summation (formal power series) |
Mordell |
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number theory; Diophantine equations; Mordell curve; modular forms; Mordell-Weil theorem; Mordell conjecture |
Napier |
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logarithm; decimal point |
Newton |
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dynamical systems; infinitesimal calculus; binomial theorem |
Noether |
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abstract algebra; Noetherian ring (abstract algebra) |
Ostrogradsky |
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divergence theorem; calculus of variations |
Painlevé |
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differential equations |
Pascal |
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probability theory; Pascal's triangle |
Peano |
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mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; set theory; Peano axioms (axiomatization); Peano existence theorem (differential equations) |
Perelman |
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geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=3; Thurston's geometrization conjecture (geometric topology) |
Perron |
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Perron method (differential equations); Perron–Frobenius theorem (matrix theory); Perron's formula (number theory) |
Poincaré |
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dynamical systems; Poincaré map (chaos theory); topology; Poincaré conjecture; fundamental group (algebraic topology); Fuchsian groups; Kleinian groups; differential equations |
Poisson |
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differential equations; Poisson's equation; probability theory; Poisson distribution |
Pólya |
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heuristics; combinatorics; number theory; probability theory |
Pythagoras |
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arithmetic; Pythagorean theorem |
Ramanujan |
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number theory; series; continued fractions; Ramanujan-Petersson conjecture |
Ribet |
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Fermat's last theorem (number theory); modular forms; Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory) |
Riccati |
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Riccati equation (differential equation) |
Ricci-Curbastro |
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tensor calculus; Ricci flow (differential geometry); Ricci curvature (differential geometry) |
Riemann |
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Riemannian geometry (non-Euclidean geometry); Riemann zeta function; Riemann hypothesis; Riemann integral (integral calculus); real analysis; differential geometry of surfaces; |
Riesz | divergent series; partial differential equations | |
Rolle | Rolle's theorem | |
Russell |
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mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; Russell's paradox |
Sarrus | rule of Sarrus (determinants); Sarrus numbers (number theory) | |
Schwartz |
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theory of distributions |
Serre |
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algebraic geometry; algebraic number theory (abstract algebra) |
Shimura |
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Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory) |
Simpson | Simpson's rule (integral calculus) | |
Smale |
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geometric topology; h-cobordism; Poincaré conjecture for n≥5 |
Sobolev |
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theory of distributions; Sobolev space (analysis) |
Stallings |
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geometric group theory; Stallings theorem about ends of groups (group theory); geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=6 |
Stewart |
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recreational mathematics |
Stieltjes |
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Riemann-Stieltjes integral (integral calculus); continued fractions; orthogonal polynomials |
Stirling | Stirling numbers; Stirling permutations; Stirling's approximation (factorials) | |
Stokes |
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Stokes's theorem (differential geometry); Stokes line (complex analysis) |
Sturm |
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Sturm's theorem (polynomials); Sturm-Liouville equation (differential equation); Sturm-Liouville theory (S-L theory); Sturm series (polynomials) |
Sun Zi | algebraic equations; Diophantine equations; square roots; Chinese remainder theorem (number theory); books | |
Sylvester |
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Sylvester's determinant theorem (matrix theory); Sylvester's formula (matrix theory); Sylvester equation (matrix theory); coined the terms "graph", "discriminant", and "totient" |
Szegö | orthogonal polynomials; Toeplitz matrices | |
Taniyama |
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Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory) |
Tao |
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Green-Tao theorem (number theory); circular law (probability theory); Hardy-Littlewood prime tuples conjecture; prime gaps (number theory) |
Tartaglia |
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algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 3 |
Taylor, Brook |
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Taylor series; Taylor's theorem |
Taylor, Richard |
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Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory); Langlands program (algebra and analysis) |
Thales |
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geometry |
Thom |
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topology; catastrophe theory; singularity theory |
Thue |
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Diophantine equations; Diophantine approximations; Thue equation; Thue-Siegel-Roth theorem |
Thurston |
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manifolds (topology); foliation theory (topology); Thurston's geometrization conjecture (geometric topology) |
Turán |
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number theory; graph theory |
Vandermonde | Vandermonde matrix; Vandermonde determinant; Vandermonde's identity | |
Van der Waerden |
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abstract algebra |
Viète |
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convention of using letters for unknowns in equations |
Vinogradov | analytic number theory | |
Von Neumann |
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foundations of mathematics; measure theory; ergodic theory |
Wallis |
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approximation of π; convention of using symbol ∞ for infinity; infinitesimal calculus |
Weierstrass |
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foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; limit of a function; analysis; Weierstrass factorization theorem (complex analysis); Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem; elliptic functions; calculus of variations |
Weil |
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number theory; algebraic geometry; Mordell-Weil theorem; Weil conjectures |
Weyl |
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Riemann surfaces (topology); compact groups (abstract algebra); Weyl groups (abstract algebra); Lie algebras (abstract algebra); Weyl law (eigenvalues); Weyl's criterion (Diophantine equations) |
Wiles |
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Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory) |
Yoccoz |
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dynamical systems |
Zeeman |
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geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=5; catastrophe theory; singularity theory |
Zermelo |
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mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms (set theory) |
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