Often referred to as “the language of the universe”, mathematics is at the heart of our daily lives. From Mobile phones and mobile devices, to Digital television and Internet access, GPS and Google maps, Calendars, APPs, Computer games, Architecture, Space Travel, Astronomy, Astrology, The world economy, Engineering, Heathcare, Science, Sports, there’s no escaping the science and logic of shape, quantity and arrangement. After all, it’s fundamental to our understanding of the world.

Mathematics has been at the forefront of every known society throughout history.

Primitive tribes relied on it to count, to calculate the position of the sun and to identify the physics of hunting so they could keep their tribes alive. In ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, mathematics was used to construct the great pyramids and the great cities.

We have so many curious, adventurous and talented mathematicians to thank for their mathematical discoveries and contributions. Here are 3 who have helped lay the foundations that shape our lives today.

1. Euclid
Euclid lived around 300BC and is often referred to as “the Father of Geometry”. His magnum opus “Elements”, is known as one the greatest mathematical works in history. Euclid is credited with the instruction of the rigorous, logical proof for theorems and conjectures. In addition to “Elements”, there are 5 other surviving Euclid works, all generally on the topic of Geometry or Number theory. His other works, sadly, have been lost throughout history.

2. Pythagoras
Pythagoras, the Greek Mathematician was born around 570BC and is often referred to as the “founding father of mathematics”.
He is most famous for his Pythagorean Theorem (within trigonometry), establishing that the square of the hypotenuse of a right angle triangle is the sum of the square of the other two sides. This was instrumental in the development of geometry as well as becoming the foundation of many other mathematical areas and theorums we see today.
Pythagoras travelled the Mediterranean, studying mathematics with other Greek teachers, philosophers, Egyptian Priests and the Babylonian Magi before setting up his own Mathematics school, The Pythagorean School and the Pythagorean religious sect. Pythagoras was so passionate about numbers, he believed they were sacred. He also believed the geometric triangle possessed incredible magical powers.

3. Fibonacci
Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, known as Leonardo Fibonacci was born in Pisa, Italy in 1170 AD. His two most famous mathematical contributions were the introduction of Hindu-Arabic numbers to Europe (the modern number system we use today originates from this discovery), and the Fibonacci sequence.
In 1202 AD, Fibonacci introduced the Hindu-Arabic numeral system to Europe by writing his book, Liber Abaci (Book of Calculation). His book detailed how our modern numbers work, with a decimal system as in ones, tens, hundreds, and also the number zero. He also posed the question “how many rabbits can be produced in a year by a pair of rabbits?” From there he introduced the series of numbers he is most famous for: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21, 34, which is now known as the “Fibonacci sequence” or the “exponential number series”