20 mathematicians and their biography template

As students learn math, it’s important for them to know that mathematics is more than just numbers and shapes. It’s also about famous mathematicians—the people, personalities, and discoveries that shaped what we know about math today.

These 26 famous mathematicians show us how math discoveries have shaped history, come from all around the world, and are still happening today.

Thales of Miletus

Modern Turkey, 626–548 B.C.E.

Thales of Miletus used geometry to calculate the heights of pyramids and measure the distance from ships to the shore.

He also discovered five geometric theorems and ideas:

• A diameter bisects a circle.
• Angles opposite two equal sides of a triangle are equal.
• Opposite angles of two intersecting angles are equal.
• An angle inside a semicircle is a right-angle triangle.
• When we have the length of a triangle’s base and two angles at the base, we can determine the triangle.

His work sounds easy to us, but it wa