Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia: Mathematician and Inventor of the Quadratic Formula Early Life:Niccolò Fontana, later known as Tartaglia, was born on February 20, 1499, in Brescia, Lombardy (now Italy). His childhood was marked by tragedy when, at the age of 12, he witnessed the sacking of his hometown by the French army. During the invasion, he suffered a facial injury that […]
Mary Fairfax Somerville: Mathematician, Scientist, and Writer Early Life:Mary Fairfax Somerville was born on December 26, 1780, in Jedburgh, Scotland. She was the daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir William George Fairfax and Margaret Charters. Despite societal norms of the time that limited educational opportunities for women, Somerville’s parents encouraged her intellectual curiosity and provided her with access to books and learning […]
Bernhard Riemann: Mathematician and Pioneer in Geometry and Analysis Early Life:Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was born on September 17, 1826, in Breselenz, a village in the Kingdom of Hanover, which is now part of Germany. He was the second of six children in a poor but highly intellectual family. His father, Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, was a pastor, and his mother, […]
Srinivasa Ramanujan: The Self-Taught Mathematical Genius Early Life:Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887, in Erode, a small town in Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were K. Srinivasa Iyengar, a clerk in a cloth merchant’s shop, and Komalatammal. From an early age, Ramanujan showed an extraordinary talent for mathematics, and his interest in the subject became evident during his […]
Adolphe Quetelet: Statistician and Founder of Social Physics Early Life:Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet was born on February 22, 1796, in Ghent, which was part of the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium). Raised in a well-educated family, Quetelet displayed an early interest in mathematics and astronomy. His father, François-Augustin Quetelet, was a Frenchman who had settled in Ghent, and Adolphe grew up […]
Pythagoras: Mathematician, Philosopher, and Founder of the Pythagorean School Early Life:Pythagoras, one of the most influential figures in the history of mathematics and philosophy, is believed to have been born around 570 BC on the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea. Much of what is known about Pythagoras comes from later sources, and separating historical fact from legend can […]
Proclus: Neoplatonic Philosopher and Mathematician Early Life:Proclus, also known as Proclus Diadochus, was born around 412 AD in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Little is known about his early life, including details about his family or childhood. However, historical records suggest that Proclus received a comprehensive education, and his intellectual prowess became evident at a young age. Education in Athens:Proclus traveled […]
Henri Poincaré: Visionary Mathematician and Theoretical Physicist Early Life and Education:Jules Henri Poincaré was born on April 29, 1854, in Nancy, France, into an academic family. His father, Léon Poincaré, was a professor of medicine, and his mother, Eugénie Launois, came from a family of distinguished academics. Henri Poincaré showed early signs of exceptional mathematical talent, and his parents recognized […]
William Oughtred: Mathematician and Inventor of the Slide Rule Early Life:William Oughtred was born on March 5, 1574, in Eton, Buckinghamshire, England. Little is known about his early childhood and education. However, it is believed that he received his education at King’s School, Canterbury, and later attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Oughtred showed an early aptitude for mathematics, which would eventually […]
Emmy Noether: Pioneer of Abstract Algebra and Theoretical Physics Early Life and Education:Amalie Emmy Noether was born on March 23, 1882, in Erlangen, Germany, into a family with a strong academic background. Her father, Max Noether, was a distinguished mathematician, and Emmy Noether grew up surrounded by an intellectual environment. Despite societal expectations for women at the time, her family […]