author
David Hilbert
1862–1943
One of the great architects of modern mathematics, he helped reshape geometry, number theory, and the study of equations while also asking questions that guided research for decades. His famous list of twenty-three problems became a roadmap for much of twentieth-century mathematics.
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About the author
Born in Königsberg, Prussia, in 1862, David Hilbert became one of the most influential mathematicians of the modern era. He spent most of his career at the University of Göttingen, which under his influence became one of the world's leading centers for mathematical research.
Hilbert worked across an astonishing range of subjects, including geometry, algebra, number theory, mathematical physics, and the foundations of mathematics. His book Foundations of Geometry helped recast Euclidean geometry in a rigorous axiomatic form, and his work on invariant theory, integral equations, and what later came to be called Hilbert spaces left a lasting mark on both mathematics and physics.
In 1900, he presented twenty-three unsolved problems that challenged the next generation of mathematicians and shaped the direction of the field for years to come. He also became closely associated with the effort to place mathematics on secure logical foundations. Hilbert died in Göttingen in 1943, but his influence still runs through much of modern mathematical thought.