Mathematicians

Math Project Mathematicians

Submitted By: Justin B. Tuazon Submitted To: Mrs. Lucena

SY 2009-2010 American Mathematicians:

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), African American farmer, self-taught mathematician and astronomer. He self-taught in mathematics and astronomy, African American Benjamin Banneker extended his horizons far beyond the modest tobacco farm on which he spent most of his life. In 1789 United States President George Washington appointed him to a commission to plan the construction of Washington, D. C.

Herbert Aaron Hauptman, born in 1917, American mathematician, crystallographer, and Nobel Prize winner. With his colleague, American biophysicist and crystallographer Jerome Karle, Hauptman developed a mathematical formula to determine the structure of molecules. Their so-called direct method reduced from several years to about two days the time needed to work out an atomic structure. Hauptman and Karle were awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a mathematical formula to determine crystal structure. American biophysicist and crystallographer Herbert Hauptman won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1985. He developed a mathematical formula to determine crystal structure.

Grace Hopper (1906-92), American navy officer, mathematician, and pioneer in data processing. A pioneer in data processing, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper received credit for creating the first compiler in 1952. Hopper helped to develop two computer languages and to make computers attractive to businesses. One of the most prominent women in the computer industry, Hopper died in 1992.

John von Neumann (1903-57), HungarianAmerican mathematician, who developed the branch of mathematics known as the game theory. A brilliant mathematician, John von Neumann made several valuable contributions to 20th-century science. The best known of these was the development of game theory, a mathematical way to analyze a conflict of interest and generate the best choices to advance toward a desired outcome. Although it is generally applied to games, many people apply Neumann’s theory to sociological, economic, and political situations.

Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), American mathematician and founder of cybernetics, the study of control and communication in machines, animals, and organizations. A child prodigy, American mathematician Norbert Wiener earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University at the age of 18. Wiener contributed to many areas of mathematics and science, but he became famous for developing the field of science called cybernetics. Interdisciplinary in nature, cybernetics is concerned with communication and control systems in living organisms, machines, and organizations.

Niels Henrik Abel (1802-29), Norwegian mathematician, who was the first to demonstrate conclusively the impossibility of solving by the elementary processes of algebra general equations of any degree higher than the fourth. Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel proved that it was impossible to solve an algebraic equation containing a polynomial higher than the fourth degree. In 1825 the Norwegian government granted Abel a scholarship that enabled him to travel throughout Europe. During his travels he published papers and met with other mathematicians to compare theories. Abel’s contacts with other leading mathematicians of his day inspired his work on elliptical functions and the solving of equations with radical numbers.

Ancient Greece Mathematicians:

Archimedes (287-212 bc), preeminent Greek mathematician and inventor, who wrote important works on plane and solid geometry, arithmetic, and mechanics. Archimedes made extensive contributions to theoretical mathematics. In addition, he is well known for applying science to everyday life. For instance, Archimedes discovered the principle of water displacement while taking a bath. He also developed simple machines such as the lever and screw into useful tools for war and irrigation.

Euclid (mathematician), (lived circa 300 bc), Greek mathematician, whose chief work, Elements, is a comprehensive treatise on mathematics in 13 volumes on such subjects as plane geometry, proportion in general, the properties of numbers, incommensurable magnitudes, and solid geometry. His Elements was used as a text for 2000 years, and even today a modified version of its first few books forms the basis of high school instruction in plane geometry. The first printed edition of Euclid's works was a translation from Arabic to Latin, which appeared at Venice in 1482.

Pythagoras (582?-500?bc), Greek philosopher and mathematician, whose doctrines strongly influenced Plato. Considered the first true mathematician, Pythagoras in the 6th century BC emphasized the study of mathematics as a means to understanding all relationships in the natural world. His followers, known as Pythagoreans, were the first to teach that the Earth is a sphere revolving around the Sun. This detail showing Pythagoras surrounded by his disciples comes from a fresco known as the School of Athens (1510-1511), by Italian Renaissance painter Raphael.

Dutch Mathematicians:

Max Euwe (1901-1981), Dutch chess grandmaster and professor of mathematics, who was the world chess champion from 1935 to 1937. He was born in Amsterdam and educated at the University of Amsterdam. Dutch chess grandmaster Max Euwe won the world chess championship in 1935, defeating Russian grandmaster Alexander Alekhine. He also served as president of the International Federation of Chess from 1970 to 1978.

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), Dutch astronomer, mathematician, and physicist, born in The Hague. His numerous, original scientific discoveries won him wide recognition and honors among scientists of the 17th century.

Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens made significant advancements in optics, astronomy, and physics. He developed the theory that light is composed of waves and invented new ways of making lenses. He built telescopes that enabled him to discover a moon of Saturn. He also was the first to use pendulums to keep time, and determined the relationship between the length of a pendulum and the time taken by its swing.

British Mathematicians: Charles Babbage (1792-1871), British mathematician and inventor, who designed and built mechanical computing machines on principles that anticipated the modern electronic computer. Inventor of the Difference Engine, British mathematician Charles Babbage is credited with conceiving the first true computer. With the help of his partner, Augusta Ada Byron, Babbage also created a design for the Analytical Engine, another machine remarkably like the modern computer, even including a memory. Unfortunately, there was no way to build the machine with 19th-century technology.

Lewis Carroll (1832-98), English author, mathematician, and logician, best known for his creation of the immortal fantasy Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. English writer Lewis Carroll originally wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 for the daughter of a friend. He also wrote a sequel about Alice and numerous

letters to other children, many of which were illustrated with small sketches. The letters are compiled in a two-volume set titled The Letters of Lewis Carroll.

Stephen Hawking, born in 1942, British theoretical physicist and mathematician whose main field of research has been the nature of space and time, including irregularities in space and time known as singularities. Hawking has also devoted much of his life to making his theories accessible to the public through lectures, books, and films. Author of the best-selling book A Brief History of Time, physicist Stephen Hawking has strived to make difficult concepts in physics more accessible to the public. His discoveries about gravitation are regarded as some of the most important contributions to that area of physics since Albert Einstein introduced the general theory of relativity in 1915.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727), English physicist, mathematician, and natural philosopher, considered one of the most important scientists of all time. His work represents one of the greatest contributions to science ever made by an individual. Most notably, Newton derived the law of universal gravitation, invented the branch of mathematics called calculus, and performed experiments investigating the nature of light and color.

Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919), British mathematician, physicist, and Nobel laureate, known for his research in wave phenomena. Rayleigh engaged in research into physical optics, light, color, and electricity and the dynamics of resonance and vibrations of gas and elastic solids. He was also responsible for the determination of electrical units of measurement. In 1894 he and the British chemist Sir William Ramsay discovered the inert element argon. For this discovery Rayleigh was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize physics. Ramsay won the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same year.

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Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), British philosopher, mathematician, and Nobel laureate, whose emphasis on logical analysis influenced the course of 20th-century philosophy. In the early 20th century British mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell, along with British mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, attempted to demonstrate that mathematics and numbers can be understood as groups of concepts, or classes. Russell and Whitehead tried to show that mathematics is closely related to logic and, in turn, that ordinary sentences can be logically analyzed using mathematical symbols for words and

phrases. This idea resulted in a new symbolic language, used by Russell in a field he termed philosophical logic, in which philosophical propositions were reformulated and examined according to his symbolic logic.

Alan Turing (1912-1954), British mathematician considered one of the most important founders of computer science and artificial intelligence. He was the first to describe in detail a machine that could carry out mathematical operations and solve equations. His work brought together symbolic logic, numerical analysis, electrical engineering, and a mechanical vision of human thought processes. Considered a forerunner in the field of electronic computers, Alan Turing envisioned a device that could, in theory, perform any calculation. Referred to as the Turing Machine, it was designed to “read” commands and data from a long piece of tape, using a table to determine the order in which the required operations would be carried out. In the related field of artificial intelligence, he originated the “Turing test,” a process designed to determine if a computer can “think” like a human.

French Mathematicians:

René Descartes (1596-1650), French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, sometimes called the father of modern philosophy. The first modern philosopher, René Descartes believed science and mathematics could explain and predict events in the physical world. Descartes developed the Cartesian coordinate system for graphing equations and geometric shapes. Modern maps use a grid system that can be traced back to Cartesian graphing techniques.

Pierre de Fermat (1601-65), French mathematician, born in Beaumont-deLomagne. Pierre de Fermat French mathematician Pierre de Fermat formulated a theorem that mathematicians spent centuries trying to prove. The theorem, called Fermat’s Last Theorem, stipulates that the Pythagorean equation (a2 + b2 = c2) is true only for squares and that no positive integers can be found to satisfy the equation when the exponent is greater than two. While the unique theorem has a limited practical use, attempts to prove it have generated important discoveries in algebra and analysis.

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