11 Greatest Mathematicians of All Time

These 11 greatest mathematicians of all time have made a few of the biggest advancements in human history. Whether you’re good in math or not, one cannot deny the importance of math applications in our daily life. Mathematics is a foundation of many sciences in the world today and we wouldn’t be as advanced as we are if it weren’t for great minds of mathematics. If we put it simply, mathematics is a study of numbers. Its application extends to numerous fields like Physics, Geometry, Chemistry, Geography, Astrology, and many more. Numerous contributions have been made to make our life better and most of them are things we aren’t even aware of.

It’s hard to say whether or not these mathematicians were products of great mathematical countries or if they were the cause for some countries’ rise in the mathematical field. One cannot deny though that these names have had a lot of influence in the 15 Smartest Countries in Math. With so much advancements being made in the field, it’s hard to believe that there are still some things left to discover for us. I guess it’s left for those with the drive and capability to do so.

This list has been ranked and compiled by Insider Monkey using research done by Famous-Mathematicians.org on the lives of different mathematicians. We ranked them based on their significant contributions and awards. You may or may not know a few of the names listed here. Let’s start detailing who these 11 greatest mathematicians of all time are:

11. Alan Turing

Contributions: The Turing Machine, On Computable Numbers with an Application to the Decision Problem
Titles/Awards: Father of Computer Science, Order of the British Empire Recipient

Alan Turing is now well-known for his contributions during World War II in which he created the first modern computer. He decrypted tens of thousands of German messages which helped win the war.

10. Blaise Pascal

Contributions: Pascal Calculators, The Treatise on the Equilibriums on Liquids, The Generation of Conic Sections, Treatise on the Arithmetic Triangle

Blaise Pascal is notably known for his work regarding atmospheric pressure, and his in-depth study on triangles helped moved geometry forward.

9. John Forbes Nash Jr.

Contributions: Nash Equilibrium, Equilibrium Points in N-Person Games, Econometrica About the Bargaining Problem, Two-Person Cooperative Games
Titles/Awards: Nobel Prize in Economics

One may be familiar with John Forbes Nash Jr., as he was depicted in a popular movie “A Beautiful Mind” years ago.

8. Ptolemy

Contributions: The Amalgest, Ptolemaic System, the Geographica, Tetrabiblos
Titles/Awards: Polymath

Ptolemy is one of the few mathematicians in this list to be known as a polymath. His contributions to numerous fields with mathematical applications were astonishing.

7. John Von Neumann

Contributions: Dirac von-Neuman Axioms, Cellular Automata, Atomic Bomb Work, Hydrogen Bomb Work, MANIAC (Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator and Computer)

John Von Neumann is the man that is majorly credited for his work on creating the Atom Bomb and the Hydrogen Bomb. He is considered as one the most brilliant minds in mathematics.

6. Isaac Newton

Contributions: Root of a Function, Generalized Binomial Theorem, The Principia, Cubicle Curves, Theory of Finite Differences
Titles/Awards: Lucasian Professor of Mathematics

Newton has been credited for a lot of things though most of his work has been due to his study and passion in the field of mathematics.

The greatest mathematicians are yet to come. Let’s continue this list of 11 greatest mathematicians of all time.

5. Albert Einstein

Contributions: Nuclear Energy, Theory of Relativity, Einstein Field Equations
Titles/Awards: Father of the Atomic Age, Nobel Prize in Physics, Time Magazine’s Person of the Century

Albert Einstein is probably one of the most famous persons in this group. He’s had numerous awards and achievements and is famous for the equation E=mc2

4. Andrew Wiles

Contributions: Proving Fermat’s Last Theorem
Titles/Awards: Fermat Prize, Royal Medal, Shaw Prize, Schock Prize, King Faisal Prize

Fermat’s Last Theorem was probably one of the most difficult theorems to prove and Andrew Wiles succeeded where hundreds of mathematicians did not.

3. Daniel Bernoulli

Contributions: Bernoulli Principle, Hydrodynamics, Kinetic Theory of Gases, Mathematical Exercises, Bernoulli’s Theorem, Ship’s Anchor Shape, Magnetism
Titles/Awards: Grand Prize of the Paris Academy

Daniel Bernoulli’s contributions were numerous and pioneered numerous fields. He was known to have won more than 10 awards from the Paris Academy.

2. Euclid

Contributions: Euclidian Geometry, Euclid’s Elements, On Divisions of Figures, Conics, Porisms, Surface Loci, Euclidean Number, Euclidean Algorithm
Titles/Awards: Father of Geometry

Euclid’s work on Geometry inspired the creation of the entire field and his work on the book Elements is one of the most popular books of all time.

1. Edward Witten

Contributions: M-theory of the Universe, String Theory, Quantum Gravity, Supersymmetry, Quantum Field Theory
Titles/Awards: Albert Einstein Award, National Medal of Science, Harvey Prize, Isaac Newton Medal, Fundamental Physics Prize

Edward Witten is known as the greatest theoretical physicist of all time. His work with mathematics and physics has created numerous contributions and advancements to both fields.

This has been the list of 11 greatest mathematicians of all time. Their contributions have definitely been significant.