History of Math

By sfsizemo
  • 2000 BCE

    Mathematical challenges of the 21st century announced

  • 1994 BCE

    Wiles proves Fermat's Last Theorem

  • 1982 BCE

    Madlebrot's "The fractal geometry of nature"

    describes the theory of fractals and is largely responsible for the current interest in fractal geometry
  • 1977 BCE

    Adelman, Rivest and Shamir introduce public-key codes

    Introduced a system for passing secret messages using large primes and a key which could be published
  • 1976 BCE

    Four color conjecture verified by computer

    Ken Appel and Wolfgang Haken prove the four color conjecture with 1200 hours of computer time to examine 1500 conjectures
  • 1970 BCE

    Matiyasevich shows Hilbert's tenth problem is unsolvable

    Yuri Matiyasevich (1947 - ), a Russian mathematician, showed that "Hilbert's tenth problem" was unsolvable, namely that there is no general method for determining when polynomial equations have a solution in whole numbers.
  • 1963 BCE

    Paul J. Cohen on the continuum hypothesis

    Paul J. Cohen proves the independence of the axiom of choice and of the continuum hypothesis
  • 1961 BCE

    Lorenz on chaotic behavior

    Meteorologist, Edward Lorenz, discovered a simple mathematical system with chaotic behavior