GREAT MATHEMATICIANS
Mathematics first arose from the practical need to measure time and to count. Greece was the birth place of mathematics. Great mathematicians filled the world with their theories, and different branches of science have grown from them. Here are some of the world's greatest mathematicians, whose contributions to this field will always remain evergreen.
Pythagoras [paɪˈθæɡərəs] was a Greekphilosopher and mathematician. He is often revered as a great mathematician and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean Theorem which bears his name. He was known as "The Father of Numbers".
Archimedes [ˌɑːrkɪˈmiːdiːz] discovered that the weight of the body divided by the volume of water displaced by it, gives its density. This was a revolutionary discovery that many scientists and researchers consider as the birth of modern physics. His contribution to geometry is also well renowned. He found out that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of any circle is a constant which gave birth to the non-recursive number pi.
Blaise Pascal [blɛzpɑːˈskɑːl] was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher. In 1642 he started some pioneering work on calculating machines, establishing him as one of the first inventors of the mechanical calculator. Pascal was an important mathematician. His "Treatise on the Arithmetical Triangle" of 1653 described a convenient tabular presentation for binomial coefficients, now called Pascal's triangle. Pascalalso derived a lot of geometrical theorems. These theorems together form the root of geometry.
Sir Isaac Newton 's contributions to the field of mathematics are known to everybody. The three laws of motion, gravitational attraction between bodies, dispersion of light and Newton's rings are just a few of his world famous theories. Newton also developed calculus, the mathematical study of change, which provided new mathematical methods for solving physical problems.
The Russian mathematical school is one of the most influential in the world. The outstanding Russian mathematician Sophia Kovalevskaya wrote three dissertations, one of which was on the theory of partial differential equations. NikolayLobachevsky is a great Russian mathematician and the creator of non-Euclidean geometry. He also wrote a number of works in the field of algebra and mathematical analysis. Lobachevskys ideas greatly influenced the development not only of geometry and other mathematical sciences, but also mechanics, physics and astronomy.
Pafnutiy Chebyshev is known for his work in the field of probability, statistics and number theory. Andrey Markov developed the theory of Markov chains, playing a central role in information sciences and modern applied mathematics. Nikolay Zhukovskiy was the first to explain mathematically the origin of aerodynamic lift. Andrey Kolmogorov developed the foundation of the modern theory of probability and made other key contributions to mathematical logic, topology, differential equations, information theory, theory of algorithms, classical mechanics, mathematical linguistics, etc.
These are just a few of the great names who laid down the foundations to the massive world of mathematics. Though people contradicted to their views and theories, they always provided a mathematical explanation to each of their theories, so they are all recognized today. These theories still form the base of all modern technologies and sciences.
Ex. 2. Who is it?
1. That person is the first inventor of the mechanical calculator.
2. That person discovered three laws of motion.
3. That person founded the theory of probability.
4. That person was known as "The Father of Numbers".
5. That person wrote three dissertations.
6. That person gave birth to the non-recursive number pi.
7. That person is the creator of non-Euclidean geometry.
