Famous Swiss Mathematicians
Swiss mathematicians have casted an overpowering effect on the field of mathematics. They are lauded for their ground-breaking contribution in the field of calculus, trigonometry, geometry and so on. Their research and findings led to the discovery of many unknown facts and facets of mathematics which helped in the better understanding of the subject. While talking of Swiss mathematicians, the first name that strikes the mind is that of Jacob Bernoulli. He has through his research delivered to the world the first type of law of large numbers in the probability theory. He has also contributed greatly to the parallels of logic, algebra and geometry. His brother, Johann Bernoulli, is credited for developing the isochrone and tautchrone concepts and made major contributions to differential equations, optics, clock construction and mathematics of ship sails. Leonhard Euler, the famous Swiss mathematician, introduced mathematical notations and terminology such as the concepts of mathematical functions. In the 20th century Switzerland, Paul Bernays played a pivotal role in expanding the knowledge of mathematics further. He developed the finitist concept and made vast contribution by developing the axiomatic set theory and the philosophy of mathematics. Check this section further to find out more about Swiss mathematician, their life, profile, works and timeline.
This ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.
Vote for Your Favourite Swiss Mathematicians
Birthdate: April 15, 1707
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Basel
Died: September 18, 1783
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss physicist, mathematician, logician, geographer, astronomer, and engineer. He is credited with making influential and important mathematical discoveries, such as graph theory and infinitesimal calculus. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most prolific mathematicians of all time, Leonhard Euler also made pioneering contributions to analytic number theory and topology.
Birthdate: December 27, 1654
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Died: August 16, 1705
Born into a family of drug merchants, Jacob Bernoulli was forced to study theology by his father but later deviated to math. He taught math and laid down the Bernoulli’s equation and calculus of variations. Apart from him and his brother, Johann Bernoulli, his family later produced more great mathematicians.
Birthdate: February 8, 1700
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Groningen
Died: March 17, 1782
Daniel Bernoulli was a Swiss physicist and mathematician. Born into the popular Bernoulli family of mathematicians, Daniel Bernoulli is renowned for his applications of mathematical equations to mechanics. He is also remembered for his pioneering work in statistics and probability. In 2002, he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.
Celebrities Born On My Birthday?
Birthdate: August 6, 1667
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Basel
Died: January 1, 1748
Brother and colleague of Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli and part of the famous Bernoulli family of mathematicians, Johann Bernoulli was initially pushed to join his family business of drug and spices. He later took up medicine, eventually deviating to math and contributing to infinitesimal calculus, along with Jacob.
Birthdate: August 26, 1728
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Mulhouse, France
Died: September 25, 1777
Johann Heinrich Lambert was a Swiss polymath whose contributions to the fields of physics, mathematics, map projections, astronomy, and philosophy are considered important by many scholars. He is credited with introducing hyperbolic functions into trigonometry. He is also credited with inventing a hygrometer, which is used to measure the quantity of water vapor in soil and air.
Birthdate: February 26, 1664
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Died: May 10, 1753
A close associate of Isaac Newton, Swiss mathematician Nicolas Fatio de Duillier, was, according to many, the reason for Newton’s nervous breakdown after they fell apart. He is best remembered for co-discovering the phenomenon of zodiacal light and for inventing the shadow theory of gravitation.
Birthdate: March 18, 1796
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Utzenstorf, Switzerland
Died: April 1, 1863
Swiss mathematician Jakob Steiner is remembered for pioneering the field of projective geometry. Born to a farmer, he didn’t have initial schooling and couldn’t write until age 14. His parents were against his decision to join school at 18. He later rose to be a significant figure of synthetic geometry.
You May Like
Birthdate: April 9, 1878
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Budapest
Died: September 7, 1936
Swiss mathematician Marcel Grossmann was the son of a textile factory manager but became a geometry professor instead of following in his father’s path. He later co-established the Swiss Mathematical Society and collaborated with Albert Einstein on a paper that formed the basis of Einstein’s theory of gravity.
Birthdate: July 31, 1704
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Geneva
Died: January 4, 1752
Born to a doctor, Gabriel Cramer showed an interest in math since childhood. He received his doctoral degree at 18 and was named the co-chair of the University of Geneva at 20. Known for his research on algebraic curves, he is also remembered for devising Cramer’s rule and Cramer’s paradox.
Birthdate: February 28, 1552
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Lichtensteig, Switzerland
Died: January 31, 1632
Known as the man who invented logarithms in a study independent of John Napier, Swiss mathematician Joost Bürgi was initially a clockmaker of Duke Wilhelm IV’s court. His geometrical and astronomical instruments made him popular, and he joined the service of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.
Birthdate: October 17, 1888
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: London, England
Died: September 18, 1977
Paul Bernays was a Swiss mathematician best remembered for his association with the German mathematician David Hilbert. Bernays is also remembered for making significant contributions to the philosophy of mathematics, axiomatic set theory, and mathematical logic. Paul Bernays is credited with publishing a two-volume work titled Grundlagen der Mathematik, which houses the famous Hilbert–Bernays paradox.
Birthdate: May 21, 1923
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds
Died: August 11, 2003
Swiss mathematician and Princeton professor Armand Borel is remembered as a co-creator of the theory of linear algebraic groups. He also had a strong connection with France, having been a student of French mathematician Jean Leray and having been named a foreign member of the Académie des Sciences.
Birthdate: September 29, 1803
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Died: December 15, 1855
Copley Medal-winning French mathematician Jacques Charles François Sturm contributed immensely to the theory of equations with his Sturm’s theorem. His research covered compressible fluids and the speed of sound in water. His is one of the 72 names engrave on the Eiffel Tower. An asteroid was named after him too.
Birthdate: May 1, 1825
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Lausen
Died: March 12, 1898
Apart from teaching at a secondary school, Johann Jakob Balmer also taught geometry at the University of Basel. The Swiss mathematician is best remembered for his Balmer series formula for the hydrogen atom, which was later explained by Niels Bohr. He made a contribution to the field of atomic spectroscopy.
Birthdate: January 29, 1755
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Died: January 4, 1826
Nicolas Fuss was mathematically gifted and became an assistant to mathematician Leonhard Euler, who needed a secretary after being rendered partially blind due to a surgery. In course of time, he contributed to areas such as spherical trigonometry, differential geometry, and optics. He was also named to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Birthdate: July 7, 1816
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Fallenden, Switzerland
Died: December 6, 1893
Swiss astronomer Rudolf Wolf initially taught math and physics at the University of Bern and later switched to teaching astronomy. He then joined both the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. Best remembered for his studies on sunspot activity, he established what are now known as Wolf’s sunspot numbers.