GeometryDiscrete & Logic
David Hilbert
1862 – 1943 · Germany
The man who posted the to-do list for 20th-century mathematics
David Hilbert was a German mathematician who charted the direction of 20th-century mathematics. In 1900 he laid out 23 problems for the field to solve, drawing a research map for a century. He sought to rebuild geometry from a few axioms and led the 'Hilbert program' to set all of mathematics on unshakable logical foundations.
Key contributions
- Posed Hilbert's 23 problems
- Re-founded geometry on axioms
- Led the foundations of mathematics and formalism