The Most Famous
MATHEMATICIANS from Finland
This page contains a list of the greatest Finnish Mathematicians. The pantheon dataset contains 1,004 Mathematicians, 4 of which were born in Finland. This makes Finland the birth place of the 29th most number of Mathematicians behind Czechia, and Belarus.
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Finnish Mathematicians of all time. This list of famous Finnish Mathematicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Lars Ahlfors (1907 - 1996)
With an HPI of 66.45, Lars Ahlfors is the most famous Finnish Mathematician. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages on wikipedia.
Lars Valerian Ahlfors (18 April 1907 – 11 October 1996) was a Finnish mathematician, remembered for his work in the field of Riemann surfaces and his textbook on complex analysis.
2. Rolf Nevanlinna (1895 - 1980)
With an HPI of 55.35, Rolf Nevanlinna is the 2nd most famous Finnish Mathematician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.
Rolf Herman Nevanlinna (né Neovius; 22 October 1895 – 28 May 1980) was a Finnish mathematician who made significant contributions to complex analysis.
3. Anders Johan Lexell (1740 - 1784)
With an HPI of 52.29, Anders Johan Lexell is the 3rd most famous Finnish Mathematician. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Anders Johan Lexell (24 December 1740 – 11 December [O.S. 30 November] 1784) was a Finnish-Swedish astronomer, mathematician, and physicist who spent most of his life in Imperial Russia, where he was known as Andrei Ivanovich Leksel (Андрей Иванович Лексель). Lexell made important discoveries in polygonometry and celestial mechanics; the latter led to a comet named in his honour. La Grande Encyclopédie states that he was the prominent mathematician of his time who contributed to spherical trigonometry with new and interesting solutions, which he took as a basis for his research of comet and planet motion. His name was given to a theorem of spherical triangles. Lexell was one of the most prolific members of the Russian Academy of Sciences at that time, having published 66 papers in 16 years of his work there. A statement attributed to Leonhard Euler expresses high approval of Lexell's works: "Besides Lexell, such a paper could only be written by D'Alambert or me". Daniel Bernoulli also praised his work, writing in a letter to Johann Euler "I like Lexell's works, they are profound and interesting, and the value of them is increased even more because of his modesty, which adorns great men". Lexell was unmarried, and kept up a close friendship with Leonhard Euler and his family. He witnessed Euler's death at his house and succeeded Euler to the chair of the mathematics department at the Russian Academy of Sciences, but died the following year. The asteroid 2004 Lexell is named in his honour, as is the lunar crater Lexell.
4. Ernst Leonard Lindelöf (1870 - 1946)
With an HPI of 51.71, Ernst Leonard Lindelöf is the 4th most famous Finnish Mathematician. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Ernst Leonard Lindelöf (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlɪ̂nːdɛˌløːv]; 7 March 1870 – 4 June 1946) was a Finnish mathematician, who made contributions in real analysis, complex analysis and topology. Lindelöf spaces are named after him. He was the son of mathematician Lorenz Leonard Lindelöf and brother of the philologist Uno Lorenz Lindelöf. He was secretary of the Finnish Society of Science and Letters (societas scientiarum Fennica) in its centenary year, 1938.
5. Hjalmar Mellin (1854 - 1933)
With an HPI of 43.86, Hjalmar Mellin is the 5th most famous Finnish Mathematician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Robert Hjalmar Mellin (19 June 1854 – 5 April 1933) was a Finnish mathematician and function theorist.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Finnish mathematicians born between 1740 and 1907. Of these 5, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Finnish mathematicians include Lars Ahlfors, Rolf Nevanlinna, and Anders Johan Lexell. As of April 2024, 1 new Finnish mathematicians have been added to Pantheon including Hjalmar Mellin.
Deceased Finnish Mathematicians
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Lars Ahlfors
1907 - 1996
HPI: 66.45
Rolf Nevanlinna
1895 - 1980
HPI: 55.35
Anders Johan Lexell
1740 - 1784
HPI: 52.29
Ernst Leonard Lindelöf
1870 - 1946
HPI: 51.71
Hjalmar Mellin
1854 - 1933
HPI: 43.86
Newly Added Finnish Mathematicians (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Mathematicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Mathematicians since 1700.
