MATHEMATICIAN
Claude Shannon
1916 - 2001

Claude Shannon
Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, cryptographer and inventor known as the "father of information theory" and the man who laid the foundations of the Information Age. Shannon was the first to describe the use of Boolean algebra—essential to all digital electronic circuits—and helped found artificial intelligence (AI). Roboticist Rodney Brooks declared Shannon the 20th century engineer who contributed the most to 21st century technologies, and mathematician Solomon W. Golomb described his intellectual achievement as "one of the greatest of the twentieth century". At the University of Michigan, Shannon dual degreed, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and another in mathematics, both in 1936. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Claude Shannon is the 101st most popular mathematician (down from 56th in 2019), the 697th most popular biography from United States (down from 316th in 2019) and the 7th most popular American Mathematician.
Claude Shannon is most famous for his work in information theory, which is the study of how information is encoded and transmitted.
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Among MATHEMATICIANS
Among mathematicians, Claude Shannon ranks 101 out of 1,004. Before him are Joan Clarke, L. E. J. Brouwer, Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani, Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, Paul Erdős, and John Wallis. After him are Felix Klein, Guillaume de l'Hôpital, Adrien-Marie Legendre, Augustus De Morgan, Anthemius of Tralles, and Émile Picard.
Most Popular Mathematicians in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsJoan Clarke
1917 - 1996
HPI: 72.55
Rank: 95
L. E. J. Brouwer
1881 - 1966
HPI: 72.42
Rank: 96
Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani
940 - 998
HPI: 72.26
Rank: 97
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi
1804 - 1851
HPI: 72.22
Rank: 98
Paul Erdős
1913 - 1996
HPI: 72.17
Rank: 99
John Wallis
1616 - 1703
HPI: 72.15
Rank: 100
Claude Shannon
1916 - 2001
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 101
Felix Klein
1849 - 1925
HPI: 72.08
Rank: 102
Guillaume de l'Hôpital
1661 - 1704
HPI: 72.08
Rank: 103
Adrien-Marie Legendre
1752 - 1833
HPI: 72.07
Rank: 104
Augustus De Morgan
1806 - 1871
HPI: 71.69
Rank: 105
Anthemius of Tralles
474 - 534
HPI: 71.67
Rank: 106
Émile Picard
1856 - 1941
HPI: 71.58
Rank: 107
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1916, Claude Shannon ranks 22. Before him are João Havelange, Olivia de Havilland, Yehudi Menuhin, Jean Dausset, Christian B. Anfinsen, and Camilo José Cela. After him are Frederick Chapman Robbins, Hans Eysenck, Sune Bergström, Maurice Wilkins, Harold Wilson, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Among people deceased in 2001, Claude Shannon ranks 18. Before him are Jorge Amado, G. E. M. Anscombe, Christiaan Barnard, Sabiha Gökçen, Bill Hewlett, and Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary. After him are Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Iannis Xenakis, Alberto Korda, Gilbert Bécaud, Wilhelm Mohnke, and Fred Hoyle.
Others Born in 1916
Go to all RankingsJoão Havelange
BUSINESSPERSON
1916 - 2016
HPI: 73.88
Rank: 16
Olivia de Havilland
ACTOR
1916 - 2020
HPI: 73.40
Rank: 17
Yehudi Menuhin
MUSICIAN
1916 - 1999
HPI: 73.04
Rank: 18
Jean Dausset
BIOLOGIST
1916 - 2009
HPI: 72.80
Rank: 19
Christian B. Anfinsen
CHEMIST
1916 - 1995
HPI: 72.45
Rank: 20
Camilo José Cela
WRITER
1916 - 2002
HPI: 72.15
Rank: 21
Claude Shannon
MATHEMATICIAN
1916 - 2001
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 22
Frederick Chapman Robbins
PHYSICIAN
1916 - 2003
HPI: 71.92
Rank: 23
Hans Eysenck
PSYCHOLOGIST
1916 - 1997
HPI: 71.77
Rank: 24
Sune Bergström
CHEMIST
1916 - 2004
HPI: 71.74
Rank: 25
Maurice Wilkins
PHYSICIST
1916 - 2004
HPI: 71.61
Rank: 26
Harold Wilson
POLITICIAN
1916 - 1995
HPI: 71.42
Rank: 27
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
POLITICIAN
1916 - 2000
HPI: 71.36
Rank: 28
Others Deceased in 2001
Go to all RankingsJorge Amado
WRITER
1912 - 2001
HPI: 73.92
Rank: 12
G. E. M. Anscombe
PHILOSOPHER
1919 - 2001
HPI: 73.41
Rank: 13
Christiaan Barnard
PHYSICIAN
1922 - 2001
HPI: 73.02
Rank: 14
Sabiha Gökçen
PILOT
1913 - 2001
HPI: 72.98
Rank: 15
Bill Hewlett
BUSINESSPERSON
1913 - 2001
HPI: 72.42
Rank: 16
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary
COMPANION
1932 - 2001
HPI: 72.31
Rank: 17
Claude Shannon
MATHEMATICIAN
1916 - 2001
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 18
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
POLITICIAN
1939 - 2001
HPI: 71.50
Rank: 19
Iannis Xenakis
COMPOSER
1922 - 2001
HPI: 71.29
Rank: 20
Alberto Korda
PHOTOGRAPHER
1928 - 2001
HPI: 71.24
Rank: 21
Gilbert Bécaud
SINGER
1927 - 2001
HPI: 71.18
Rank: 22
Wilhelm Mohnke
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1911 - 2001
HPI: 71.08
Rank: 23
Fred Hoyle
ASTRONOMER
1915 - 2001
HPI: 70.98
Rank: 24
In United States
Among people born in United States, Claude Shannon ranks 697 out of 20,380. Before him are Alfred Newman (1900), Scottie Pippen (1965), Montgomery Clift (1920), Robert A. Heinlein (1907), James Coburn (1928), and Frank Sinatra Jr. (1944). After him are David Copperfield (1956), Julie Harris (1925), Robert Downey Sr. (1936), Leonard Nimoy (1931), Robert Burns Woodward (1917), and Paul Flory (1910).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsAlfred Newman
COMPOSER
1900 - 1970
HPI: 72.16
Rank: 691
Scottie Pippen
BASKETBALL PLAYER
1965 - Present
HPI: 72.16
Rank: 692
Montgomery Clift
ACTOR
1920 - 1966
HPI: 72.15
Rank: 693
Robert A. Heinlein
WRITER
1907 - 1988
HPI: 72.14
Rank: 694
James Coburn
ACTOR
1928 - 2002
HPI: 72.14
Rank: 695
Frank Sinatra Jr.
SINGER
1944 - 2016
HPI: 72.13
Rank: 696
Claude Shannon
MATHEMATICIAN
1916 - 2001
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 697
David Copperfield
MAGICIAN
1956 - Present
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 698
Julie Harris
ACTOR
1925 - 2013
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 699
Robert Downey Sr.
ACTOR
1936 - 2021
HPI: 72.11
Rank: 700
Leonard Nimoy
ACTOR
1931 - 2015
HPI: 72.09
Rank: 701
Robert Burns Woodward
CHEMIST
1917 - 1979
HPI: 72.08
Rank: 702
Paul Flory
CHEMIST
1910 - 1985
HPI: 72.08
Rank: 703
Among MATHEMATICIANS In United States
Among mathematicians born in United States, Claude Shannon ranks 7. Before him are John Forbes Nash Jr. (1928), Charles Sanders Peirce (1839), Norbert Wiener (1894), Katherine Johnson (1918), Herbert A. Hauptman (1917), and Jim Simons (1938). After him are Paul Cohen (1934), John Tate (1925), Mary Jackson (1921), Edward Norton Lorenz (1917), Alonzo Church (1903), and Karen Uhlenbeck (1942).
John Forbes Nash Jr.
1928 - 2015
HPI: 85.78
Rank: 1
Charles Sanders Peirce
1839 - 1914
HPI: 75.56
Rank: 2
Norbert Wiener
1894 - 1964
HPI: 74.10
Rank: 3
Katherine Johnson
1918 - 2020
HPI: 73.76
Rank: 4
Herbert A. Hauptman
1917 - 2011
HPI: 73.31
Rank: 5
Jim Simons
1938 - 2024
HPI: 72.89
Rank: 6
Claude Shannon
1916 - 2001
HPI: 72.12
Rank: 7
Paul Cohen
1934 - 2007
HPI: 71.36
Rank: 8
John Tate
1925 - 2019
HPI: 69.04
Rank: 9
Mary Jackson
1921 - 2005
HPI: 68.42
Rank: 10
Edward Norton Lorenz
1917 - 2008
HPI: 68.25
Rank: 11
Alonzo Church
1903 - 1995
HPI: 68.08
Rank: 12
Karen Uhlenbeck
1942 - Present
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 13