MATHEMATICIANS from Spain

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Spanish Mathematicians of all time. This list of famous Spanish Mathematicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Jabir ibn Aflah (1100 - 1150)

With an HPI of 58.02, Jabir ibn Aflah is the most famous Spanish Mathematician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Abū Muḥammad Jābir ibn Aflaḥ (Arabic: أبو محمد جابر بن أفلح, Latin: Geber/Gebir; 1100–1150) was an Arab Muslim astronomer and mathematician from Seville, who was active in 12th century al-Andalus. His work Iṣlāḥ al-Majisṭi (Correction of the Almagest) influenced Islamic, Jewish, and Christian astronomers.

2. Abraham Zacuto (1452 - 1515)

With an HPI of 57.93, Abraham Zacuto is the 2nd most famous Spanish Mathematician.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Abraham Zacuto (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם בֵּן שְׁמוּאֵל זַכּוּת‎, romanized: Avraham ben Shmuel Zacut, Portuguese: Abraão ben Samuel Zacuto; 12 August 1452 – c. 1515) was a Sephardic Jewish astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, rabbi and historian. Born in Castile, he served as Royal Astronomer to King John II of Portugal before fleeing to Tunis. His astrolabe of copper, his astronomical tables and maritime charts played an important role in the Spanish and Portuguese navigation capability. They were used by Vasco Da Gama and Christopher Columbus.

3. Abraham bar Hiyya (1070 - 1145)

With an HPI of 57.12, Abraham bar Hiyya is the 3rd most famous Spanish Mathematician.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Abraham bar Ḥiyya ha-Nasi (Hebrew: ר׳ אַבְרָהָם בַּר חִיָּיא הַנָשִׂיא; c. 1070 – 1136 or 1145), also known as Abraham Savasorda, Abraham Albargeloni, and Abraham Judaeus, was a Catalan Jewish mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who resided in Barcelona, then in the County of Barcelona. Bar Ḥiyya was active in translating the works of Islamic science into Latin and was likely the earliest to introduce algebra from the Muslim world into Christian Europe. He also wrote several original works on mathematics, astronomy, Jewish philosophy, chronology, and surveying. His most influential work is his Ḥibbur ha-Meshiḥah ve-ha-Tishboret, translated in 1145 into Latin as Liber embadorum. A Hebrew treatise on practical geometry and algebra, the book contains the first known complete solution of the quadratic equation x 2 − a x + b = c {\displaystyle x^{2}-ax+b=c} , and influenced the work of Fibonacci.