Mathematics mathematicians biography and contributions

Introduction

Being a mathematician is hard. Only a few people have mastered this subject and achieved fame. Of those, there have been some famous Indian mathematicians. In this article, we will discuss some of the famous mathematicians and their contributions to Mathematics.

Riddles about famous Mathematicians 

Here is a PDF that consists of riddles about famous mathematicians. Click on the download button to solve them.

15 Famous Mathematicians and Their Contributions

1. Euclid

Euclid was one among the famous mathematicians, and he was known as the ‘Father of Geometry.’ His famous Geometry contribution is referred to as the Euclidean geometry, which is there in the Geometry chapter of class IX. He spent all his life working for mathematics and set a revolutionary contribution to Geometry. 

2. Pythagoras

‘Pythagoras theorem’ is very popular and an important mathematical formula to solve mathematical problems. Since childhood, all of us have struggled to solve mathematical problems applying the Pythagoras theorem. Pythagoras discovered this prominent theorem and he became the father of ‘Pythagoras theorem.’ Pythagoras was from Greece, but he fled off to India in the latter part of his life.

3. Archimedes

Archimedes was a Greek Scientist, a great mathematician, and a Physician. He also worked his entire life in search of discovering mathematical formulas that are related to Physics. The best contribution of Archimedes in mathematics is known as the invention of compound pulleys, antiquity, and screw pump. Students of class X have to study these chapters of compound pulleys and antiquity.

4. Thales of Miletus

Thales of Miletus was one of the most famous mathematicians from Greece. He was very skilled in Ge

Brahmagupta (598-668 CE) 

Brahmagupta’s work comprised of the rules to compute with zero. It was traditionally used as a place holder. He also wrote some important works on astronomy alongside mathematics. The seventh-century Indian mathematician showcased examples such as how to find the cube and cube-root of an integer and gave rules regarding squares and square roots. Read more.

Isaac Newton (1643- 1727)

Isaac Newton is perhaps most well-known for his legend on developing the universal laws of gravity. It is known that a young Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree when he was struck on the head by a fruit. This lead to his crucible moment, to develop some of the most important principles of modern physics. He is also renowned for his discovery of calculus, and binomial theorem. This in large has been used to work out the probability of things through statistics. Read more.

Diophantus (AD 285 and 299)

Diophantus is sometimes called “the father of algebra” and developed theories on numbers and solving equations. ‘Arithmetica’ is a major work of Diophantus, and inspired some of the world’s greatest mathematicians including Leonhard Euler and Pierre de Fermat to make significant new discoveries. Read more.

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)

English mathematician, Ada Lovelace is recognised as the world’s first computer programmer. Her mathematical skills were evident at an early age. She introduced many computer concepts. Read more.

Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662)

Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist. He co

Using subject headings in the OSU Library Catalog or the OhioLINK catalog, you can search for biographical sources on mathematicians.

Subject Search in OSU Library Catalog

To find information on a specific person, you may do a search for the person by using a subject search for Last Name, First Name.

Note: When searching for names, you may get several people with the same name. Many names have a year of birth and sometimes death with their name. You may need to use this to pick the correct name.

Examples of subject searches for a name:

You can use subheadings to see biography or to look at mathematicians from a specific country. Examples:

Recommended Biographical Book Resources:

• Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (online) - After cicking on the link, enter terms in the Full Text search box - your search will be limited to this set of ebooks.
• Dictionary of Scientific Biography (print) - Eighteen volume set of biographical information of scientists from a variety of fields.
• A to Z of Mathematicians - Offers short (1-2 page) biographies of mathematicians. Entries contain suggestions for further reading on a particular person, nationality, and major field of study in mathematics. Many entries contain images of the individual.
• Mathematical People: Profiles and Interviews - This work contains interviews, pictures, and information about mathematicians.
• More Mathematical People: Contemporary Conversations - Building on the above work, this contains more interviews, pictures, and information about mathematicians.
• Notable Women in Mathematics: A Biographical Dictionary - Biographical information about dozens of women mathematicians (click on title to see the book's catalog record, which contains the list of women covered).
• Tales of Mathematicians and Physicists (ebook) - Biographical information about several mathematicians and p