Great Mathematicians

All sciences, be it physics, computers or economics; have grown out from the works of great mathematicians. They gave in mathematical calculations and explanations to the various forces in nature, which otherwise would have been considered as nothing less than magic by mankind.

Pythagoras: This name marks the birth of mathematics. Pythagoras, who is known mainly because of his Pythagorean theorem was born between 580 and 572 BC in Greece and died sometime in between 500 and 490 BC. He was known as "The Father of Numbers". There are a lot of myths about Pythagoras. Some say he had a golden thigh while others say that he could even write on the moon. But the one fact that is widely accepted and which cannot be contradicted, is that he gave birth to modern day geometry. Historians also refer to Pythagoras as one of the greatest philosophers to have ever lived on the earth.

Archimedes: Any person who is interested in mathematics or science would definitely know the story of how Archimedes discovered the impurity in the king's crown, through a simple buoyancy experiment,that he performed unintentionally, while taking bath. He discovered that the weight of the body divided by the volume of water displaced by it, gives its density. Thus he was able to detect the impurity in the golden crown of the king. This was a revolutionary discovery, that many scientists and researchers consider as the birth of modern day physics. Archimedes was born in 287 BC in the sea port city of Syracuse, Sicily. He died sometime around 212 BC. His contribution to geometry is also well renowned. He found out that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of any circle is a constant (22/7) which gave birth to the non recursive number pi. He also laid the foundations of 'square root' and 'arithmetic and geometric progressions' but did not provide backing theory regarding them.

Blaise Pascal: It may be hard to believe, but this great mathematician had not studied mathematics until the age of 12. His father had his own opinions about the education system and thought that it was undesirable for him to study mathematics before he was 15 years old. However Pascal showed his genius at the age of 12 and derived that the sum of the two sides of a triangle is equal to the sum of two right angles. His father was stunned with the temperament and genius of the young boy and allowed him to study a copy of Euclid. Blaise Pascal was born on 19th June, 1623 in Clermont-Ferrand. At the age of 19, he made the first digital calculator to help his father in calculations. He named it Pascaline. It was very similar to the mechanical calculator built in 1940. At a very young age, Pascal had derived a lot of geometrical theorems. These theorems together form the root of geometry. He had proposed the idea of a 'mystic hexagon' when he was just 16 years old. At a later age he wrote about the probability theory, which is considered by many people, as a major contribution to the field of economics. The other areas in which Pascal made everlasting contributions were hydrodynamics and hydrostatics. Among his chief inventions are the hydraulic press and the syringe, which were the results of his deep study of the principles of hydraulic fluids. Blaise Pascal died at an early age of 39 on19th August, 1662 in Paris, France. His works in the fields of geometry and hydraulics have always stayed evergreen and have been studied by mathematicians for ages.

Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage, revered as the 'Father of Computer' invented the first modern analytical computer. He was born in between 1791 and 1792 in London, England. His birth place, as well as the date of birth, is contradicted by many. People who calculated mathematical data in those days were referred to as computers. Charles Babbage noticed the amount of human errors that was brought into calculations and decided to find out a mechanical mean to do the same. Charles Babbage made the first 'Difference Engine' which could compute mathematical values mechanically. At the age of 24 he was elected as a fellow to the Royal Society. In 1827 he joined the Cambridge University as a Lucasian professor of mathematics. In 1824, he won the 'Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society' for inventing an analytic engine that could calculate the values in astronomical and mathematical tables. Charles Babbage died on 18th October, 1871. During his lifetime, he contributed a lot to the field of mechanical calculations of mathematical and statistical data. He laid the foundation for field of computers.

Newton: Sir Issac Newton's contributions to the field of mathematics are known to all. The three laws of motion, gravitational attraction between bodies, dispersion of light and Newton's rings are just a few of his world famous theories. Newton was born on 4th January, 1643 in Woolsthrope, England. He was a mediocre student in school. It was during the summer of 1665, that he proved his mettle by showing his genius in the field of mathematics. During this time he solved problems on calculus with a geometrical perspective. He found that addition of infinitesimal small lengths would result in integration and their separation is what is called differentiation. He solved the problems in calculus with a geometrical perspective and laid down the foundation for modern day calculus. He also proposed that white light or sunlight is not a single color but a combination of all the seven colors. He also gave a theory that light is a wave and thus the field of quantum physics came into existence. In 1687, Newton published the book 'Principia', which is considered as the greatest scientific book ever written. In this book he applied the laws of motion and gravitation to the universe, and proved the gravitational attraction between astronomical bodies. Sir Issac Newton died on the 31st March, 1727 in London, England. Newton, like all other great mathematicians, was a great philosopher too. He provided the scientific world with an array of mathematical theories, from the swinging of a pendulum to the gravitational attraction of the astronomical bodies to each other.

Albert Einstein: Albert Einstein is a name that is synonymous to all the mathematics and physics we have ever learned. Even those who don't understand the theory behind the universal formula E=mc², (Theory of Relativity) will find the name of Albert Einstein striking a chord in their mind, whenever they view this formula. Einstein was born in a Jew family in Germany on the 14th March, 1879. Einstein was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in physics for discovering the photo-electric effect. Among his other contributions to the field of mathematics are the Bose-Einstein statistics, Schrodinger gas model and Einstein refrigerator. He was one of the key characters in the Manhattan Project. Being a Jew, he had to leave Germany during the Second World War and migrated to the United States of America, for obvious reasons. The fear of the Germans having made an atom bomb triggered president Roosevelt to initiate the Manhattan Project which led to the discovery of nuclear weapons. Einstein himself did not play any role in the invention of the atom bomb, but he was one of the first initiators of the project. He died on the 17th April,1955. He provided the world of physics with mathematical theories, way beyond ages. He is revered to as the "Father of Physics".

These are just a few of the great names who had laid down the foundations to the massive world of mathematics. People had contradicted to their views and theories, but as they always provided a mathematical explanation to each of their theories, they are all recognized today. These theories still form the base of all modern technologies and sciences.