The 12 Mathematicians Who Set The Stage For The Modern World

Mathematics is an increasingly central part of our world, and an immensely fascinating realm of thought.

But long before the development of the math that gave us computers, quantum mechanics, and GPS satellites, generations of brilliant minds, spanning from the ancient Greeks through the eighteenth century, built up the basic mathematical ideas and tools that sit at the foundation of our understanding of math and its relationship to the world.

Here are twelve of the most brilliant of those minds, and some of their contributions to the great chain of mathematics.