top 3 most influential mathematicians

PYTHAGORAS

Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher and mathematician who was a key figure in philosophical and mathematical thinking. Pythagoras was thought to be the first person to prove the famous theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2. This theorem is now called Pythagoras’ theorem and is used extensively within geometry.

Albeit this is the most notable contribution Pythagoras made to mathematics, he is also revered for other mathematical theorems. The discovery of irrational numbers is attributed to Pythagoras as well as discovering that the sum of angles in a triangle is 180 degrees.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

Isaac Newton is not only considered to be one of the most influential mathematicians of all time but one of the most influential people in human history. He has made seismic contributions to physics, mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy, and children across the globe learn about the theories he created and the discoveries he made.

Newton, through his research, was able to calculate the derivative function, which gives the slope of a function at any point. The derivative is used within calculus to determine the rate of change of the variable being measured on the y-axis against the variable measured along the x-axis. In addition to this, Newton built on his research into differentiation and formed his Fundamental Theorem of Calculus which states that differentiation and integration are inverse operations. We use integration in mathematics to find the area under the curve. If we had a velocity-time graph then the area under the curve would signify the distance travelled as velocity multiplied by time is distance.

Newton’s contributions to mathematics, however, did not stop there. He is also credited with the generalisation binomial theorem which describes the algebraic expansion of powers of a binomial.

LEONHARD EULER

Leonhard Euler was a physicist as well as a mathematician. He was also the founder of pure mathematics and made incredible contributions to geometry, calculus, and number theory.

Euler developed the theory of trigonometric and logarithmic functions and he is famous for treating trigonometric functions as numerical ratios rather than the lengths of geometric lines. The way he did this was through the Euler identity e^(iθ) = cos θ + i sin θ.

He also introduced a lot of modern mathematical notations such as Σ which means sum and the symbol “e” for the base of the natural logarithm as well as “i” for √−1. Furthermore, he labelled triangles with the letters a, b, and c for the sides and A, B, C for the opposite angles respectively. Also, he popularised the letter “f” followed by brackets to be used to signify a function and the use of the symbol π which describes the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle.

SUMMARY

We owe a lot to all of these incredible mathematicians who have shaped and influenced the way we all study and approach mathematics. It is thanks to these mathematicians that we can explain so much about the world using numbers! There are so many other great mathematicians and academics who did not make this very brief list, but I encourage you to further research some of the greatest minds in mathematics. Perhaps afterwards you will be inspired to pursue the study of mathematics further!