MATHEMATICIAN

Pierre Wantzel

1814 - 1848

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Pierre Laurent Wantzel (5 June 1814 in Paris – 21 May 1848 in Paris) was a French mathematician who proved that several ancient geometric problems were impossible to solve using only compass and straightedge. In a paper from 1837, Wantzel proved that the problems of doubling the cube, and trisecting the angle are impossible to solve if one uses only a compass and straightedge. In the same paper he also solved the problem of determining which regular polygons are constructible: a regular polygon is constructible if and only if the number of its sides is the product of a power of two and any number of distinct Fermat primes (i.e. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Pierre Wantzel has received more than 70,552 page views. His biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 21 in 2019). Pierre Wantzel is the 441st most popular mathematician (down from 389th in 2019), the 3,035th most popular biography from France (down from 2,779th in 2019) and the 69th most popular French Mathematician.

Memorability Metrics

  • 71k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 53.43

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 22

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.74

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.09

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among MATHEMATICIANS

Among mathematicians, Pierre Wantzel ranks 441 out of 1,004Before him are Thomas Bradwardine, Nikolai Luzin, Athir al-Din al-Abhari, Jim Simons, Paul Lévy, and Goro Shimura. After him are Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī, Jacques Ozanam, Christian Kramp, Whitfield Diffie, Cato Maximilian Guldberg, and Giovanni Antonio Magini.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1814, Pierre Wantzel ranks 42Before him are Tatya Tope, Ivan Mažuranić, Auguste Clésinger, Miklós Ybl, John Hughes, and Jules Simon. After him are Mehmed Fuad Pasha, Girolamo de Rada, Prince Karl of Auersperg, Johann Georg Halske, Amalia Lindegren, and Gustav Hartlaub. Among people deceased in 1848, Pierre Wantzel ranks 36Before him are Duchess Amelia of Württemberg, Pellegrino Rossi, Robert Darwin, Frederick Marryat, Jean-Baptiste Debret, and Takizawa Bakin. After him are Joseph Görres, Robert Blum, Manto Mavrogenous, Mastoureh Ardalan, Georg August Goldfuss, and Gabriel Bibron.

Others Born in 1814

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Others Deceased in 1848

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In France

Among people born in France, Pierre Wantzel ranks 3,035 out of 6,770Before him are Pierre-Paul Riquet (1609), Augusta Holmès (1847), Lupus of Troyes (395), Louise Bertin (1805), Stéphane Peterhansel (1965), and Marie Antoinette Murat (1793). After him are Pierre Grimal (1912), Jacques Santini (1952), Guy Laroche (1921), Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria (1403), Phillipe de Plessis (1165), and Louis Charles Breguet (1880).

Among MATHEMATICIANS In France

Among mathematicians born in France, Pierre Wantzel ranks 69Before him are Pierre Alphonse Laurent (1813), Adhémar Jean Claude Barré de Saint-Venant (1797), Philippe de La Hire (1640), Paul Émile Appell (1855), Pierre Vernier (1580), and Paul Lévy (1886). After him are Jacques Ozanam (1640), Christian Kramp (1760), Yves Meyer (1939), Jacques Philippe Marie Binet (1786), Jean Leray (1906), and René de Saussure (1868).