MATHEMATICIAN

Paul Ehrenfest

1880 - 1933

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Paul Ehrenfest (18 January 1880 – 25 September 1933) was an Austrian theoretical physicist who made major contributions to statistical mechanics and its relation to quantum mechanics, including the theory of phase transition and the Ehrenfest theorem. He befriended Albert Einstein on a visit to Prague in 1912 and became a professor in Leiden, where he frequently hosted Einstein. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Paul Ehrenfest has received more than 601,931 page views. His biography is available in 41 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 37 in 2019). Paul Ehrenfest is the 107th most popular mathematician (up from 157th in 2019), the 149th most popular biography from Austria (up from 250th in 2019) and the most popular Austrian Mathematician.

Paul Ehrenfest is most famous for his work in statistical mechanics. He was the first to introduce the concept of the mean field approximation, which is a method for calculating the behavior of a system of interacting particles.

Memorability Metrics

  • 600k

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    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 41

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.69

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.93

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among MATHEMATICIANS

Among mathematicians, Paul Ehrenfest ranks 107 out of 1,004Before him are Joan Clarke, Christian Goldbach, Willebrord Snellius, Thomas Harriot, Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, and Charles Hermite. After him are John Wallis, Anthemius of Tralles, Girard Desargues, Brook Taylor, János Bolyai, and John Couch Adams.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1880, Paul Ehrenfest ranks 21Before him are Paul Hausser, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Werner von Fritsch, Premchand, Wilhelm List, and Elton Mayo. After him are Max Wertheimer, Otto Weininger, H. L. Mencken, Vajiravudh, Bruno Taut, and Alexander Blok. Among people deceased in 1933, Paul Ehrenfest ranks 9Before him are Calvin Coolidge, Adolf Loos, Faisal I of Iraq, Constantine P. Cavafy, 13th Dalai Lama, and John Galsworthy. After him are Sándor Ferenczi, Mohammed Nadir Shah, Nikolai Yudenich, Annie Besant, Wilhelm Cuno, and Stefan George.

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In Austria

Among people born in Austria, Paul Ehrenfest ranks 149 out of 1,424Before him are Edward Bernays (1891), Michael Haydn (1737), Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland (1573), Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1751), Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865), and Leopold III, Duke of Austria (1351). After him are Helmut Marko (1943), Heinz Fischer (1938), Walther von der Vogelweide (1170), Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (1529), Georg Joachim Rheticus (1514), and Hans Selye (1907).

Among MATHEMATICIANS In Austria

Among mathematicians born in Austria, Paul Ehrenfest ranks 1After him are Josef Stefan (1835), Georg von Peuerbach (1423), Hans Hahn (1879), Emil Artin (1898), Georg Alexander Pick (1859), Karl Menger (1902), Philipp Frank (1884), Hermann Bondi (1919), Simon von Stampfer (1790), Friedrich Waismann (1896), and Hilda Geiringer (1893).