You Gotta Know These Mathematicians Flashcards
generalized the binomial theorem
Isaac Newton
did the first rigorous manipulation with power series
Isaac Newton
created his Namesake method for finding roots of differentiable functions
Isaac Newton
it is debated whether he or Gottfried Leibniz invented calculus (whose differential aspect this man called the method of fluxions)
Isaac Newton
known for the Elements, a textbook on geometry and number theory
Euclid
established five postulates
Euclid
his fifth postulate — also called the parallel postulate — can be broken to create spherical and hyperbolic geometries, which are collectively called non-Namesake geometries
Euclid
proved that there are infinitely many prime numbers
Euclid
considered the “Prince of Mathematicians”
Carl Friedrich Gauss
His Disquisitiones Arithmeticae systematized number theory and stated the fundamental theorem of arithmetic (every integer greater than 1 has a prime factorization that is unique notwithstanding the order of the factors)
Carl Friedrich Gauss
he proved the fundamental theorem of algebra (every non-constant polynomial has at least one root in the complex numbers)
Carl Friedrich Gauss
proved the law of quadratic reciprocity, and the prime number theorem
Carl Friedrich Gauss
intuited the formula for the summation of an arithmetic sequence when his primary-school teacher gave him the task — designed to waste his time — of adding the first 100 positive integers.
Carl Friedrich Gauss
best known for his “eureka” moment, in which he realized he could use density considerations to determine the purity of a gold crown
Archimedes
found the ratios between the surface areas and volumes of a sphere and a circumscribed cylinder
Archimedes
accurately estimated pi
Archimedes
developed a calculus-like technique to find the area of a circle, his method of exhaustion
Archimedes
known for his independent invention of calculus and the ensuing priority dispute with Isaac Newton
Gottfried Leibniz
Most modern calculus notation, including the integral sign and the use of d to indicate a differential, originated with him
Gottfried Leibniz
did work with the binary number system
Gottfried Leibniz
did fundamental work in establishing boolean algebra and symbolic logic
Gottfried Leibniz
remembered for his contributions to number theory including his little theorem
Pierre de Fermat
studied Namesake primes, which are prime numbers that can be written as 22n + 1 for some integer n
Pierre de Fermat
famous for his “last theorem,” which he wrote in the margin of Arithmetica by the ancient Greek mathematician Diophantus with a note that “I have discovered a marvelous proof of this theorem that this margin is too small to contain.”
Pierre de Fermat
Andrew Wiles proved his “last theorem” in 1995
Pierre de Fermat
He and Blaise Pascal corresponded about probability theory
Pierre de Fermat
known for his prolific output and the fact that he continued to produce seminal results even after going blind
Leonhard Euler
invented graph theory by solving the Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem
Leonhard Euler
introduced the modern notation for e, an irrational number about equal to 2.718, which is now called his Namesake number in his honor (but don’t confuse it for his Namesake constant, which is different)
Leonhard Euler
proved his Namesake formula which Richard Feynman called “the most beautiful equation in mathematics”
Leonhard Euler
best known for his two incompleteness theorems
Kurt Gödel
developed paranoia late in life and eventually refused to eat because he feared his food had been poisoned; he died of starvation
Kurt Gödel
best known for proving the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture that all rational semi-stable elliptic curves are modular forms
Andrew Wiles
proved Fermat’s last theorem
Andrew Wiles
known for a four-dimensional extension of complex numbers called the quaternions
William Rowan Hamilton
