Famous Iranian Mathematicians

Vote for Your Favourite Iranian Mathematicians

Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

 1 
Avicenna
(Persian polymath the most significant physiciansand writers of the Islamic Golden Age, and the father of early modern medicine.)
Avicenna
34
Birthdate: 0980 AD
Birthplace: Afshona, Uzbekistan
Died: May 31, 1037
Renowned as father of early modern medicine, Avicenna was an illustrious Persian polymath. He is specifically distingusihed for his contributions in the fields of medicine and Aristotelian philisophy. He is best-known for his works namely, The Canon of Medicine and The Book of Healing. The corpus of his writings also include alchemy, geology, psychology, geography, physics, poetry and Islamic theology.
 2 
Omar Khayyam
(Mathematician)
Omar Khayyam
45
Birthdate: May 18, 1048
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Nishapur, Khorasan, Iran
Died: December 4, 1131

Omar Khayyam was a Persian polymath, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, and poet. In the field of mathematics, he is best known for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations. As an astronomer, he designed a solar calendar known as the Jalali calendar. His philosophical attitude towards life had elements of pessimism, nihilism, Epicureanism, and fatalism. 

 3 
Maryam Mirzakhani
(First Iranian to Be Honored With the ‘Fields Medal’, the Most Prestigious Award in Mathematics)
Maryam Mirzakhani
51
Birthdate: May 12, 1977
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: July 14, 2017

Maryam Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician best remembered for her innovative methods and research involving different branches of mathematics like symplectic geometry and ergodic theory. On 13 August 2014, she became the first Iranian and only woman to date to be honored with the prestigious Fields Medal. Maryam Mirzakhani died of breast cancer when she was 40 years old.

Recommended Lists:
 4 
Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī
(Iranian Scholar, Scientist and Polymath)
Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī
26
Birthdate: 0973 AD
Birthplace: Beruni, Uzbekistan
Died: 1050 AD

Apart from being a pioneer of Indology and geodesy, Persian scholar Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī also worked on subjects such as anthropology, math, and ethnography. It is believed he didn’t know his father. He had penned many works, such as the encyclopaedic volume The Chronology of Ancient Nations.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
13
Birthdate: February 18, 1201
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tous, Iran
Died: June 26, 1274

Persian polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi lost his jurist father in childhood and then went around as a scholar, learning subjects such as math and philosophy. He made invaluable contribution to astronomy and later served as a scientific advisor of the Mongols. One of his notable written works was Akhlaq-i Nasiri.

 6 
Ulugh Beg
(Ruler of the Timurid Empire from 1447 to 1449)
Ulugh Beg
13
Birthdate: March 22, 1394
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Soltanieh, Iran
Died: October 27, 1449

Ulugh Beg was the ruler of the Timurid Empire from 1447 to 1449. He is also remembered for his achievements as a mathematician and astronomer and is credited with building the legendary Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand which was the largest in Central Asia. It was also regarded by scholars as one of the best observatories in the Islamic world. 

 7 
Al-Karaji
(Mathematician)
Al-Karaji
3
Birthdate: 0953 AD
Birthplace: Karkh, Baghdad, Iraq
Died: 1029 AD

Al-Karaji was a Persian engineer and mathematician who flourished in 10th-century Baghdad. His algebra work al-fakhri fi al-jabr wa al-muqabala, which is extant in at least four copies from the medieval era, is among the most widely studied work by historians. The importance of his work was recognized only in the mid-1800s by German mathematician and historian Franz Woepcke.

 8 
Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani
(Iranian Mathematician and Astronomer Known for His Innovations in 'Spherical Trigonometry')
Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani
3
Birthdate: June 10, 0940
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Buzhgan, Iran
Died: July 15, 0998

Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani was a Persian astronomer and mathematician best remembered for his significant contribution to spherical trigonometry. He is credited with using negative numbers, which were unheard of at that time, in one of his arithmetic works. Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani is also credited with introducing the secant and cosecant functions in trigonometry.