MATHEMATICIAN
Whitfield Diffie
1944 - Today

Whitfield Diffie
Bailey Whitfield 'Whit' Diffie ForMemRS (born June 5, 1944) is an American cryptographer and mathematician and one of the pioneers of public-key cryptography along with Martin Hellman and Ralph Merkle. Diffie and Hellman's 1976 paper New Directions in Cryptography introduced a radically new method of distributing cryptographic keys, that helped solve key distribution—a fundamental problem in cryptography. Their technique became known as Diffie–Hellman key exchange. The article stimulated the almost immediate public development of a new class of encryption algorithms, the asymmetric key algorithms. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Whitfield Diffie is the 485th most popular mathematician (down from 445th in 2019), the 4,046th most popular biography from United States (down from 3,637th in 2019) and the 30th most popular American Mathematician.
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Among MATHEMATICIANS
Among mathematicians, Whitfield Diffie ranks 485 out of 1,004. Before him are Kurt Hensel, Philipp Frank, Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq, Bruno Abakanowicz, James Waddell Alexander II, and Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi. After him are Guidobaldo del Monte, James Stirling, Albert Girard, Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov, Pierre Vernier, and Otto Hölder.
Most Popular Mathematicians in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsKurt Hensel
1861 - 1941
HPI: 60.89
Rank: 479
Philipp Frank
1884 - 1966
HPI: 60.89
Rank: 480
Yaʿqūb ibn Ṭāriq
800 - Present
HPI: 60.88
Rank: 481
Bruno Abakanowicz
1852 - 1900
HPI: 60.88
Rank: 482
James Waddell Alexander II
1888 - 1971
HPI: 60.88
Rank: 483
Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi
980 - 1037
HPI: 60.86
Rank: 484
Whitfield Diffie
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 485
Guidobaldo del Monte
1545 - 1607
HPI: 60.81
Rank: 486
James Stirling
1692 - 1770
HPI: 60.80
Rank: 487
Albert Girard
1595 - 1632
HPI: 60.76
Rank: 488
Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov
1906 - 1993
HPI: 60.75
Rank: 489
Pierre Vernier
1580 - 1637
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 490
Otto Hölder
1859 - 1937
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 491
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1944, Whitfield Diffie ranks 301. Before him are Bo Larsson, Lars Norén, Geoffrey Hughes, Jacques-Alain Miller, Rebecca Horn, and Carlos Pachamé. After him are Wolfgang Weber, John McCook, Jiří Holeček, Boris Mikhailov, Tim Rice, and Jean-Louis Debré.
Others Born in 1944
Go to all RankingsBo Larsson
SOCCER PLAYER
1944 - 2023
HPI: 60.97
Rank: 295
Lars Norén
WRITER
1944 - 2021
HPI: 60.92
Rank: 296
Geoffrey Hughes
ACTOR
1944 - 2012
HPI: 60.91
Rank: 297
Jacques-Alain Miller
PSYCHOLOGIST
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.89
Rank: 298
Rebecca Horn
SCULPTOR
1944 - 2024
HPI: 60.85
Rank: 299
Carlos Pachamé
SOCCER PLAYER
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.84
Rank: 300
Whitfield Diffie
MATHEMATICIAN
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 301
Wolfgang Weber
SOCCER PLAYER
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.81
Rank: 302
John McCook
ACTOR
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.79
Rank: 303
Jiří Holeček
HOCKEY PLAYER
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.78
Rank: 304
Boris Mikhailov
POLITICIAN
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.78
Rank: 305
Tim Rice
MUSICIAN
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.78
Rank: 306
Jean-Louis Debré
POLITICIAN
1944 - 2025
HPI: 60.77
Rank: 307
In United States
Among people born in United States, Whitfield Diffie ranks 4,046 out of 20,380. Before him are Jean Acker (1893), Carey Lowell (1961), Donn F. Eisele (1930), Sue Lyon (1946), Monte Melkonian (1957), and Joseph B. Foraker (1846). After him are John Powell (1947), Lawrence Eagleburger (1930), Gene Deitch (1924), Jesse Ventura (1951), Dan Castellaneta (1957), and Ada Blackjack (1898).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsJean Acker
ACTOR
1893 - 1978
HPI: 60.84
Rank: 4,040
Carey Lowell
ACTOR
1961 - Present
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,041
Donn F. Eisele
ASTRONAUT
1930 - 1987
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,042
Sue Lyon
ACTOR
1946 - 2019
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,043
Monte Melkonian
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1957 - 1993
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,044
Joseph B. Foraker
POLITICIAN
1846 - 1917
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,045
Whitfield Diffie
MATHEMATICIAN
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,046
John Powell
ATHLETE
1947 - 2022
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 4,047
Lawrence Eagleburger
POLITICIAN
1930 - 2011
HPI: 60.82
Rank: 4,048
Gene Deitch
FILM DIRECTOR
1924 - 2020
HPI: 60.82
Rank: 4,049
Jesse Ventura
POLITICIAN
1951 - Present
HPI: 60.82
Rank: 4,050
Dan Castellaneta
ACTOR
1957 - Present
HPI: 60.81
Rank: 4,051
Ada Blackjack
EXPLORER
1898 - 1983
HPI: 60.81
Rank: 4,052
Among MATHEMATICIANS In United States
Among mathematicians born in United States, Whitfield Diffie ranks 30. Before him are Marshall Harvey Stone (1903), Sal Khan (1976), Mitchell Feigenbaum (1944), William Thurston (1946), Sam Loyd (1841), and James Waddell Alexander II (1888). After him are Stephen Cole Kleene (1909), Richard Hamming (1915), Dennis Sullivan (1941), George David Birkhoff (1884), Julia Robinson (1919), and Richard E. Bellman (1920).
Marshall Harvey Stone
1903 - 1989
HPI: 62.66
Rank: 24
Sal Khan
1976 - Present
HPI: 62.13
Rank: 25
Mitchell Feigenbaum
1944 - 2019
HPI: 61.91
Rank: 26
William Thurston
1946 - 2012
HPI: 61.71
Rank: 27
Sam Loyd
1841 - 1911
HPI: 61.31
Rank: 28
James Waddell Alexander II
1888 - 1971
HPI: 60.88
Rank: 29
Whitfield Diffie
1944 - Present
HPI: 60.83
Rank: 30
Stephen Cole Kleene
1909 - 1994
HPI: 60.65
Rank: 31
Richard Hamming
1915 - 1998
HPI: 60.31
Rank: 32
Dennis Sullivan
1941 - Present
HPI: 60.16
Rank: 33
George David Birkhoff
1884 - 1944
HPI: 60.12
Rank: 34
Julia Robinson
1919 - 1985
HPI: 60.11
Rank: 35
Richard E. Bellman
1920 - 1984
HPI: 60.06
Rank: 36