Answer to the Quiz (Sorted by Birth Year)

Quiz: 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	Country	Dates	Some key contributions
Thales		GR	(∼624 BC – ∼546 BC)	geometry
Pythagoras		GR	(∼570 BC – ∼495 BC)	arithmetic; Pythagorean theorem
Eudoxus of Cnidus		GR	(∼408 BC – ∼355 BC)	geometry; method of exhaustion (integral calculus)
Euclid		GR	(∼300 BC)	arithmetic; number theory; trigonometry; Euclidian geometry
Archimedes		GR	(∼287 BC – ∼212 BC)	geometry; volumes of solids of revolution; trigonometry; Archimedean spiral
Eratosthenes		GR	(∼276 BC – ∼195 BC)	sieve of Eratosthenes (number theory)
Apollonius of Perga		GR	(∼262 BC – ∼190 BC)	conic sections (geometry); book "Conics"
Hipparchus		GR	(∼190 BC – ∼120 BC)	trigonometry
Heron of Alexandria		GR	(∼10 – ∼70)	square roots; algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Heron's formula
Diophantus		GR	(between 201 and 215 – between 285 and 299)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations
Sun Zi		CN	(between 200 and 500)	algebraic equations; Diophantine equations; square roots; Chinese remainder theorem (number theory); books
Aryabhata		IN	(476 – 550)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations; trigonometry
Brahmagupta		IN	(597 – 668)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations; Pell's equation; arithmetic; use of 0
al-Khwarizmi		Persia	(∼780 – ∼850)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; arithmetic; Hindu-Arabic numeral system
Bhaskara II		IN	(1114 – 1185)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 2; Diophantine equations; Pell's equation
Fibonacci		IT	(∼1170 – ∼1250)	Fibonacci numbers; Hindu-Arabic numeral system
Del Ferro		IT	(1465 – 1526)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 3
Tartaglia		IT	(1499 – 1557)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 3
Cardano		IT	(1501 – 1576)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 3
Ferrari		IT	(1522 – 1565)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 4
Viète		FR	(1540 – 1603)	convention of using letters for unknowns in equations
Napier		UK	(1550 – 1617)	logarithm; decimal point
Faulhaber		DE	(1580 – 1635)	Faulhaber's formula (sums of powers)
Mersenne		FR	(1588 – 1648)	Mersenne primes
Descartes		FR	(1596 – 1650)	Cartesian geometry; convention of using x, y, z, etc. for unknowns in equations and a, b, c, etc. for knowns
Fermat		FR	(∼1601 – 1665)	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)
Wallis		UK	(1616 – 1703)	approximation of π; convention of using symbol ∞ for infinity; infinitesimal calculus
Pascal		FR	(1623 – 1662)	probability theory; Pascal's triangle
Newton		UK	(1642 – 1727)	dynamical systems; infinitesimal calculus; binomial theorem
Leibniz		DE	(1646 – 1716)	infinitesimal calculus; convention of using d for differentials (infinitesimal calculus;); convention of using an elongated S for integrals (integral calculus)
Rolle		FR	(1652 – 1719)	Rolle's theorem
Bernoulli, Jacob		CH	(1654 – 1705)	Bernoulli numbers; constant e; Bernoulli distribution; Bernoulli differential equation
L'Hôpital		FR	(1661 – 1704)	L'Hôpital's rule (infinitesimal calculus)
Bernoulli, Johann		CH	(1667 – 1748)	infinitesimal calculus
Riccati		IT	(1676 – 1754)	Riccati equation (differential equation)
Taylor, Brook		UK	(1685 – 1731)	Taylor series; Taylor's theorem
Goldbach		DE	(1690 – 1764)	Goldbach's conjecture; Fermat numbers (number theory)
Stirling		UK	(1692 – 1770)	Stirling numbers (combinatorics); Stirling permutations (combinatorics); Stirling's approximation (factorials)
Bernoulli, Nicolaus II		CH	(1695 – 1726)	St. Petersburg paradox (probability theory)
Maclaurin		UK	(1698 – 1746)	Maclaurin series; Euler-Maclaurin formula (series and integral calculus)
Bernoulli, Daniel		CH	(1700 – 1782)	probability theory
Bayes		UK	(1701 – 1761)	Bayesian probability (probability theory)
Cramer		CH	(1704 – 1752)	Cramer's rule (matrix theory)
Euler		CH	(1707 – 1783)	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
Simpson		UK	(1710 – 1761)	Simpson's rule (integral calculus)
Clairaut		FR	(1713 – 1765)	Clairaut's equation (differential equation); Clairaut's relation (differential geometry)
D'Alembert		FR	(1717 – 1783)	fundamental theorem of algebra; d'Alembertian
Bézout		FR	(1730 – 1783)	algebraic equations; Bézout's identity (number theory)
Vandermonde		FR	(1735 – 1796)	Vandermonde matrix; Vandermonde determinant; Vandermonde's identity
Lagrange		IT	(1736 – 1813)	Lagrange's four-square theorem (number theory); calculus of variations; Euler-Lagrange equation (differential equation); Lagrange multipliers (mathematical optimization); Lagrangian
Laplace		FR	(1749 – 1827)	Laplacian; Laplace transform; Bayesian probability (probability theory)
Legendre		FR	(1752 – 1833)	least squares method; Legendre polynomials; quadratic reciprocity law; elliptic functions; Legendre symbol
Fourier		FR	(1768 – 1830)	Fourier series; Fourier transform
Germain		FR	(1776 – 1831)	number theory; Fermat's last theorem (number theory); differential equations
Gauss		DE	(1777 – 1855)	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)
Poisson		FR	(1781 – 1840)	differential equations; Poisson's equation; probability theory; Poisson distribution
Bolzano		CZ	(1781 – 1848)	foundations of mathematics; limit of a function; Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem
Bessel		DE	(1784 – 1846)	Bessel functions (special functions)
Binet		FR	(1786 – 1856)	matrix multiplication; Cauchy-Binet formula (matrix theory); matrix algebra; Binet-Cauchy identity; Binet's Fibonacci number formula (number theory); Binet equation (differential equation)
Cauchy		FR	(1789 – 1857)	foundations of mathematics; series; complex analysis; infinitesimal calculus; limit of a function; Cauchy sequence; continuity; Cauchy-Schwarz inequality; group theory (abstract algebra)
Lobachevsky		RU	(1792 – 1856)	hyperbolic geometry (non-Euclidean geometry)
Green		UK	(1793 – 1841)	Green's theorem (integral calculus) Green's identities (integral calculus)
Chasles		FR	(1793 – 1880)	Chasles's relation (geometry); cross-ratio (geometry); coined the term "homothety"
Bienaymé		FR	(1796 – 1878)	Bienaymé-Chebyshev inequality (probability theory); Bienaymé formula (statistics)
Sarrus		FR	(1798 – 1861)	rule of Sarrus (determinants); Sarrus numbers (number theory);
Ostrogradsky		RU	(1801 – 1862)	divergence theorem; calculus of variations
Abel		NO	(1802 – 1829)	algebraic equations; polynomials of degree 5; group theory (abstract algebra); Abelian integrals (integral calculus); elliptic integrals (integral calculus)
Bolyai		HU	(1802 – 1860)	non-Euclidian geometry; complex analysis
Sturm		FR	(1803 – 1855)	Sturm's theorem (polynomials); Sturm-Liouville equation (differential equation); Sturm-Liouville theory (S-L theory); Sturm series (polynomials)
Jacobi		DE	(1804 – 1851)	elliptic functions; Hamilton-Jacobi equation (differential equation); Jacobian matrix; Jacobian (determinant); Jacobi symbol
Dirichlet		DE	(1805 – 1859)	number theory; Dirichlet L-functions; Fourier series; continuity; Dirichlet integral (integral calculus)
Hamilton		IE	(1805 – 1865)	Hamiltonian; quaternions; hamiltonian paths (graph theory); Hamilton-Jacobi equation (differential equation)
De Morgan		UK	(1806 – 1871)	De Morgan's laws; mathematical logic; mathematical induction
Liouville		FR	(1809 – 1882)	number theory; complex analysis; Liouville's theorem; transcendental numbers; Liouville numbers; Sturm-Liouville theory
Galois		FR	(1811 – 1832)	algebraic equations; polynomials of any degree; Galois theory
Laurent		FR	(1813 – 1854)	Laurent series (complex analysis); Laurent polynomial
Sylvester		UK	(1814 – 1897)	Sylvester's determinant theorem (matrix theory); Sylvester's formula (matrix theory); Sylvester equation (matrix theory); coined the terms "graph", "discriminant", and "totient"
Weierstrass		DE	(1815 – 1897)	foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; limit of a function; analysis; Weierstrass factorization theorem (complex analysis); Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem; elliptic functions; calculus of variations
Boole		UK	(1815 – 1864)	Boolean algebra; mathematical logic
Stokes		UK	(1819 – 1903)	Stokes's theorem (differential geometry); Stokes line (complex analysis)
Chebyshev		RU	(1821 – 1894)	Chebyshev polynomials; orthogonal polynomials; Bienaymé-Chebyshev inequality (probability theory); Chebyshev function (number theory); Chebyshev's bias (number theory); Chebyshev equation (differential equation)
Cayley		UK	(1821 – 1895)	group theory (abstract algebra); Cayley's theorem (group theory); Cayley-Hamilton theorem (matrix theory); Cayley graph (graph theory); Cayley's formula (graph theory)
Hermite		FR	(1822 – 1901)	Hermitian matrices; Hermite normal form; Hermite polynomials; Hermitian forms; transcendental numbers
Eisenstein		DE	(1823 – 1852)	Eisenstein criterion (polynomials); quadratic reciprocity law; number theory
Kronecker		DE	(1823 – 1891)	Kronecker δ; Kronecker product (matrix theory); Kronecker symbol (number theory); algebraic number theory (abstract algebra)
Brioschi		IT	(1824 – 1897)	elliptic functions; polynomials of degree 5; polynomials of degree 6
Riemann		DE	(1826 – 1866)	Riemannian geometry (non-Euclidean geometry); Riemann zeta function; Riemann hypothesis; Riemann integral (integral calculus); real analysis; differential geometry of surfaces
Dedekind		DE	(1831 – 1916)	foundations of mathematics; set theory; ring theory (abstract algebra); number theory
Lipschitz		DE	(1832 – 1903)	Lipschitz continuity condition; Dini-Lipschitz criterion
Beltrami		IT	(1835 – 1899)	non-Euclidean geometry; Beltrami–Klein model (geometry); Singular value decomposition (matrix theory)
Jordan, Camille		FR	(1838 – 1922)	group theory (abstract algebra); Jordan matrix; Jordan's totient function; Jordan curve theorem (topology
Jordan, Wilhelm		DE	(1842 – 1899)	Gauss-Jordan elimination (matrix theory)
Lucas		FR	(1842 – 1891)	Diophantine equations; number theory; primality tests; Lucas sequences; Lucas numbers; Lucas-Lehmer test; Mersenne primes
Darboux		FR	(1842 – 1917)	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
Lie		NO	(1842 – 1899)	Lie groups (abstract algebra); group theory (abstract algebra)
Cantor		DE	(1845 – 1918)	foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; set theory; transfinite numbers; cardinal numbers; ordinal numbers; transcendental numbers
Mittag-Leffler		SE	(1846 – 1927)	Mittag-Leffler function (special functions); Mittag-Leffler star (complex analysis) Mittag-Leffler's theorem (complex analysis) Mittag-Leffler summation (formal power series)
Klein		DE	(1849 – 1925)	non-Euclidean geometry; Klein bottle (geometry); Erlangen program (geometry); Beltrami–Klein model (geometry); group theory (abstract algebra)
Frobenius		DE	(1849 – 1917)	elliptic functions; differential equations; Frobenius algebra (abstract algebra); Perron–Frobenius theorem
Kovalevskaya		RU	(1850 – 1891)	Cauchy–Kowalevski theorem (differential equations); Abelian integrals (integral calculus)
Ricci-Curbastro		IT	(1853 – 1925)	tensor calculus; Ricci flow (differential geometry); Ricci curvature (differential geometry)
Poincaré		FR	(1854 – 1912)	dynamical systems; Poincaré map (chaos theory); topology; Poincaré conjecture; fundamental group (algebraic topology); Fuchsian groups; Kleinian groups; differential equations
Appell		FR	(1855 – 1930)	Appell series; differential equations; Appell sequence (polynomials); elliptic functions
Markov		RU	(1856 – 1922)	Markov chains; Markov processes; stochastic processes
Stieltjes		NL	(1856 – 1894)	Riemann-Stieltjes integral (integral calculus); continued fractions; orthogonal polynomials
Dudeney		UK	(1857 – 1930)	recreational mathematics
Lyapunov		RU	(1857 – 1918)	differential equations; Lyapunov exponent (chaos theory); central limit theorem (probability theory)
Peano		IT	(1858 – 1932)	mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; set theory; Peano axioms (axiomatization); Peano existence theorem (differential equations)
Cesàro		IT	(1859 – 1906)	differential geometry; Cesàro mean (divergent series)
Hölder		DE	(1859 – 1937)	abstract algebra; classification of simple groups (group theory); Hölder's inequality (analysis); Hölder condition (analysis); Hölder's theorem (gamma function)
Hilbert		DE	(1862 – 1943)	foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; Hilbert space; functional analysis; Hilbert's 23 problems
Thue		NO	(1863 – 1922)	Diophantine equations; Diophantine approximations; Thue equation; Thue-Siegel-Roth theorem
Painlevé		FR	(1863 – 1933)	differential equations
Minkowski		DE	(1864 – 1909)	Minkowski inequality; number theory
Hadamard		FR	(1865 – 1963)	prime number theorem (number theory); complex analysis; differential geometry; calculus of variations; differential equations
Hausdorff		DE	(1868 – 1942)	Hausdorff space; topology; Hausdorff maximal principle (set theory); Hausdorff measure (measure theory)
Cartan		FR	(1869 – 1951)	Cartan matrix; group theory (abstract algebra); Cartan decomposition (abstract algebra); Cartan's theorem (abstract algebra)
Borel		FR	(1871 – 1956)	Borel set (topology); measure theory; probability theory
Zermelo		DE	(1871 – 1953)	mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms (set theory)
Russell		UK	(1872 – 1970)	mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; Russell's paradox
Levi-Civita		IT	(1873 – 1941)	tensor calculus; Hamilton–Jacobi equation
Lebesgue		FR	(1875 – 1941)	Lebesgue integration (integral calculus); measure theory
Hardy		UK	(1877 – 1947)	number theory; mathematical analysis; Waring's problem; Hardy–Littlewood conjectures
Fejér		HU	(1880 – 1959)	harmonic analysis; Fejér kernel (Fourier series); Fejér's theorem
Perron		DE	(1880 – 1975)	Perron method (differential equations); Perron–Frobenius theorem (matrix theory); Perron's formula (number theory)
Brouwer		NL	(1881 – 1966)	topology; Brouwer's fixed-point theorem (algebraic topology); simplicial approximation theorem (algebraic topology); invariance of domain (topology)
Littlewood		UK	(1885 – 1977)	number theory; mathematical analysis; Diophantine approximation; Waring's problem; Hardy–Littlewood conjectures
Weyl		DE	(1885 – 1955)	Riemann surfaces (topology); compact groups (abstract algebra); Weyl groups (abstract algebra); Lie algebras (abstract algebra); Weyl law (eigenvalues); Weyl's criterion (Diophantine equations)
Riesz		HU	(1886 – 1969)	divergent series; partial differential equations
Pólya		HU	(1887 – 1985)	heuristics; combinatorics; number theory; probability theory
Ramanujan		IN	(1887 – 1920)	number theory; series; continued fractions; Ramanujan-Petersson conjecture
Mordell		UK	(1888 – 1972)	number theory; Diophantine equations; Mordell curve; modular forms; Mordell-Weil theorem; Mordell conjecture
Fraenkel		DE ⇒ IL	(1891 – 1965)	mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; axiomatization; Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms (set theory)
Vinogradov		RU	(1891 – 1983)	analytic number theory
Banach		PL	(1892 – 1945)	Banach space (functional analysis); Banach algebra (functional analysis); Banach-Tarski paradox (topology)
Szegö		HU	(1895 – 1985)	orthogonal polynomials; Toeplitz matrices
Artin		AT ⇒ US	(1898 – 1962)	Artinian rings (abstract algebra); algebraic number theory (abstract algebra); Galois theory; braid theory (topology)
Van der Waerden		NL	(1903 – 1996)	abstract algebra; history of mathematics; book
Kolmogorov		RU	(1903 – 1987)	probability theory; differential equations; KAM theorem (integrable systems); stochastic processes
Von Neumann		HU ⇒ US	(1903 – 1957)	foundations of mathematics; measure theory; ergodic theory
Lehmer		US	(1905 – 1991)	number theory; primality tests; Lucas-Lehmer test; Mersenne primes
Gödel		AT	(1906 – 1978)	mathematical logic; foundations of mathematics; Gödel's incompleteness theorems
Weil		FR	(1906 – 1998)	number theory; algebraic geometry; Mordell-Weil theorem; Weil conjectures; history of mathematics
Dieudonné		FR	(1906 – 1992)	Dieudonné module (abstract algebra); Dieudonné ring (abstract algebra); history of mathematics; books
Erdélyi		HU	(1908 – 1977)	special functions; orthogonal polynomials; hypergeometric functions
Sobolev		RU	(1908 – 1989)	theory of distributions; Sobolev space (analysis)
Turán		HU	(1910 – 1976)	number theory; graph theory
Erdös		HU	(1913 – 1996)	graph theory; number theory; Prime Number Theorem; probability theory
Gelfand		RU	(1913 – 2009)	group theory; representation theory; functional analysis
Gardner		US	(1914 – 2010)	recreational mathematics
Schwartz		FR	(1915 – 2002)	theory of distributions
Ito		JP	(1915 – 2008)	probability theory; stochastic differential equations; Ito's lemma
Iwasawa		JP	(1917 – 1998)	Iwasawa decomposition (abstract algebra) Iwasawa algebra (abstract algebra) Iwasawa theory (abstract algebra)
Thom		FR	(1923 – 2002)	topology; catastrophe theory; singularity theory
Zeeman		UK	(1925 – )	geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=5; catastrophe theory; singularity theory
Serre		FR	(1926 – )	algebraic geometry; algebraic number theory (abstract algebra)
Lang		US	(1927 – 2005)	abstract algebra; Diophantine geometry; modular forms; books
Taniyama		JP	(1927 – 1958)	Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory)
Grothendieck		DE ⇒ stateless ⇒ FR	(1928 – 2014)	algebraic geometry; algebraic number theory (abstract algebra)
Shimura		JP	(1930 – 2019)	Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory)
Smale		US	(1930 – )	geometric topology; h-cobordism; Poincaré conjecture for n≥5
Stallings		US	(1935 – 2008)	geometric group theory; Stallings theorem about ends of groups (group theory); geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=6;
Langlands		CA	(1936 – )	abstract algebra; Langlands program (algebra and analysis)
Manin		RU	(1937 – )	algebraic geometry; arithmetic topology; Diophantine geometry; Gauss-Manin connection
Arnold		RU	(1937 – 2010)	differential equations; dynamical systems; KAM theorem (integrable systems); catastrophe theory; mathematical physics
Mazur		US	(1937 – )	geometric topology; arithmetic topology; Diophantine geometry
Hamilton, Richard		US	(1943 – )	differential geometry; Ricci flow (differential geometry)
Stewart		UK	(1945 – )	recreational mathematics
Thurston		US	(1946 – 2012)	manifolds; (topology); foliation theory; (topology); Thurston's geometrization conjecture (geometric topology)
Matiyasevich		RU	(1947 – )	Hilbert's tenth problem; Diophantine equations
Ribet		US	(1948 – )	Fermat's last theorem (number theory); modular forms; Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory)
Freedman		US	(1951 – )	geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=4;
Wiles		UK	(1953 – )	Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory)
Faltings		DE	(1954 – )	number theory; Mordell conjecture
Lions		FR	(1956 – )	nonlinear partial differential equations
Yoccoz		FR	(1957 – 2016)	dynamical systems
Taylor, Richard		UK	(1962 – )	Fermat's last theorem (number theory); Taniyama-Shimura conjecture (topology and number theory); Langlands program (algebra and analysis)
Perelman		RU	(1966 – )	geometric topology; Poincaré conjecture for n=3; Thurston's geometrization conjecture (geometric topology)
Tao		AU ⇒ US	(1975 – )	Green-Tao theorem (number theory); circular law (probability theory); Hardy-Littlewood prime tuples conjecture; prime gaps (number theory)