18th-Century Mathematician Rankings
A curated ranking of the 50 most influential mathematicians of the 18th century, chronicling the maturation of calculus, variational mechanics, and probability theory.
Science & TechnologyTop 50
No rankings yet. Be the first!
Similar Lists
All Items (50)
Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) — Graph theory, infinitesimal analysis, and unifying modern mathematical notation—
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (1736–1813) — Analytical mechanics, calculus of variations, and polynomial root theory—
Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749–1827) — Celestial mechanics, Bayesian probability, and the Laplace transform—
Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782) — Hydrodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, and expected utility theory—
Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717–1783) — D'Alembert's principle, the wave equation, and fundamental theorem of algebra proofs—
Adrien-Marie Legendre (1752–1833) — Legendre polynomials, quadratic reciprocity conjectures, and elliptic integrals—
Gaspard Monge (1746–1818) — Descriptive geometry, differential geometry of surfaces, and Monge-Ampère equations—
Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777) — Proving pi is irrational, hyperbolic trigonometry, and map projections—
Abraham de Moivre (1667–1754) — De Moivre's formula connecting trigonometry to complex analysis, and normal approximation—
Thomas Bayes (c. 1701–1761) — Formulating Bayes' theorem establishing the foundations of statistical inference—
Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746) — Maclaurin series expansion, Euler-Maclaurin formula, and defending Newtonian calculus—
Brook Taylor (1685–1731) — Taylor's theorem, Taylor series expansions, and early finite difference calculus—
Christian Goldbach (1690–1764) — Goldbach's conjecture on primes and foundational correspondence on analysis—
Gabriel Cramer (1704–1752) — Cramer's rule for linear systems and algebraic curve singularity classification—
Alexis Clairaut (1713–1765) — Clairaut's theorem on geodesics, singular solutions of ODEs, and earth's geoid shape—
Émilie du Châtelet (1706–1749) — Translation, synthesis, and commentary on Newton's Principia establishing kinetic energy conservation—
Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718–1799) — First systematic calculus treatise integrating differential and integral calculus—
Thomas Simpson (1710–1761) — Simpson's rule for numerical quadrature and treatises on fluxions and probability—
Edward Waring (1736–1798) — Waring's problem in additive number theory and polynomial root bounds—
Johann Bernoulli (1667–1748) — Solution to the brachistochrone problem and popularizing infinitesimal analysis across Europe—
Nicolaus I Bernoulli (1687–1759) — Formulating the St. Petersburg paradox and early probability limit theorems—
Nicolaus II Bernoulli (1695–1726) — Curves, trajectory differential equations, and early fluid mechanics—
Johann II Bernoulli (1710–1790) — Research on heat propagation, mechanics, and physical mathematics—
Jacopo Riccati (1676–1754) — The Riccati differential equation and pioneering non-linear ODE techniques—
Vincenzo Riccati (1707–1775) — Introducing hyperbolic functions and investigating their differential equations—
Étienne Bézout (1730–1783) — Bézout's theorem on intersections of algebraic plane curves and resultant determinants—
Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde (1735–1796) — Systematic determinant theory and foundational ideas in topological knot theory—
Paolo Ruffini (1765–1822) — Ruffini's rule and the earliest incomplete proof of the unsolvability of the quintic—
Lazare Carnot (1753–1823) — Projective geometry foundations, geometric cross-ratios, and mechanics—
Gian Francesco Malfatti (1731–1807) — Malfatti circles problem and resolving algebraic quintic equations—
Jean-Étienne Montucla (1725–1799) — Authoring the first definitive, comprehensive history of mathematical sciences—
Charles Bossut (1730–1814) — Influential encyclopedic textbooks in rational mechanics and hydrodynamics—
Sylvestre François Lacroix (1765–1843) — Standardizing modern calculus curricula with comprehensive multi-volume textbooks—
Roger Cotes (1682–1716) — Newton-Cotes quadrature formulas and early logarithmic relations to trigonometry—
John Landen (1719–1790) — Landen's transformation in elliptic integrals and residual analysis—
Jurij Vega (1754–1802) — High-precision logarithmic tables standardizing ballistics and engineering calculations—
Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) — Self-taught astronomer calculating complex planetary ephemerides and eclipse cycles—
John Playfair (1748–1819) — Playfair's axiom reformulating Euclid's parallel postulate and geological physics—
Matthew Stewart (1717–1785) — Stewart's theorem regarding triangle cevian lengths and planetary distance geometries—
Charles Hutton (1737–1823) — Calculation of the Earth's mean density in the Schiehallion experiment and mathematical tracts—
Franz Aepinus (1724–1802) — Mathematical formalization of the action-at-a-distance theory for electrostatics and magnetism—
William Emerson (1701–1782) — Treatises systematizing fluxions, mechanics, and Newtonian navigation math—
Giovanni Salvemini / Castillon (1708–1791) — Castillon's problem in geometry and algebraic analysis of conic sections—
Patrick d'Arcy (1725–1779) — Formulating variational principles in dynamics and early angular momentum conservation—
Antoine Deparcieux (1703–1768) — Actuarial mathematics, life tables, and empirical mortality curves—
Charles-René Reyneau (1656–1728) — Authoring Analyse Démontrée to synthesize Cartesian algebra with differential calculus—
Pierre Bouguer (1698–1758) — Heliometer invention, optical photometry attenuation law, and naval geometry—
Abraham Gotthelf Kästner (1719–1800) — Influential geometric textbooks and critical early inquiries into non-Euclidean parallel axioms—
Pierre Varignon (1654–1722) — Varignon's theorem on vector polygons and formalizing Newtonian force balance via calculus—
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) — Construction of the regular 17-gon (1796) and fundamental theorem of algebra proof (1799)—