Leonhard Euler

   
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http://plus.maths.org/issue42/features/wilson/Euler.jpg
Leonhard Euler (pronounced "Oiler") (1707-1783) was a Swiss mathematician who made contributions to fields as diverse as calculus, topology, mechanics, optics and astronomy. He is also credited with inventing Graph Theory.

He was involved in work to solve the greatest problem of the age - the Longitude problem - and is regarded by some as the most prolific mathematician ever to have lived.

Others dispute that, pointing instead at Paul Erdos, but while Erdos published more papers, Euler published more pages. Pierre-Simon Laplace said: "Read Euler, read Euler, he is a master for us all."

Further reading

You can read more on Wikipedia and on the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive: There is also this excellent article by Robin Wilson in "Plus" magazine.

Footnote

Euler is also a Ph.D. supervisor ancestor of Colin Wright, something of which Colin is simultaneously proud, and embarrassed, which is an interesting trick. See Colins Mathematical Ancestry for more information.

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