MATHEMATICIAN

Zu Chongzhi

429 - 500

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Zu Chongzhi (Chinese: 祖沖之; 429 – 500), courtesy name Wenyuan (Chinese: 文遠), was a Chinese astronomer, inventor, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He was most notable for calculating pi as between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927, a record in precision which would not be surpassed for nearly 900 years. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Zu Chongzhi is the 140th most popular mathematician (down from 123rd in 2019), the 206th most popular biography from China (up from 227th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Chinese Mathematician.

Zu Chongzhi is most famous for his contributions to mathematics. He was one of the first mathematicians to use negative numbers, and he worked on a system of equations that could be solved by both addition and subtraction.

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Among MATHEMATICIANS

Among mathematicians, Zu Chongzhi ranks 140 out of 1,004. Before him are Andrew Wiles, Meton of Athens, Liu Hui, Hermann Weyl, Hermann of Reichenau, and Annie S. D. Maunder. After him are Henri Lebesgue, Ferdinand von Lindemann, Mikhail Ostrogradsky, John G. Kemeny, Gabriel Lamé, and George Pólya.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 429, Zu Chongzhi ranks 1.  Among people deceased in 500, Zu Chongzhi ranks 3. Before him are Buddhaghosa, and Nonnus. After him are Vātsyāyana, Chandragupta II, Hierocles of Alexandria, Hesychius of Alexandria, Rutilius Claudius Namatianus, Aedesia, Anthemius, Charaton, and Asclepigenia.

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In China

Among people born in China, Zu Chongzhi ranks 206 out of 1,610. Before him are King Zhou of Shang (-1105), Li Keqiang (1955), Zhang Liao (169), Tao Yuanming (365), Wang Wei (699), and Yesün Temür (1293). After him are Xiahou Dun (155), Wang Zhaojun (-50), Chien-Shiung Wu (1912), Emperor Wen of Han (-202), Empress Xiaoyichun (1727), and Jiang Wei (202).

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Among MATHEMATICIANS In China

Among mathematicians born in China, Zu Chongzhi ranks 3. Before him are Zhang Heng (78), and Liu Hui (225). After him are Wang Chong (27), Xu Guangqi (1562), Shing-Tung Yau (1949), Guo Shoujing (1231), Yi Xing (683), Liu Xin (-50), Shiing-Shen Chern (1911), Zhu Shijie (1249), and Qin Jiushao (1201).

Chinese born Mathematicians

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