---
title: "History of mathematics"
chunk: 13/13
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mathematics"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:59:56.476741+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

In 2000, the Clay Mathematics Institute announced the seven Millennium Prize Problems. In 2003 the Poincaré conjecture was solved by Grigori Perelman (who declined to accept an award, as he was critical of the mathematics establishment).
Most mathematical journals now have online versions as well as print versions, and many online-only journals are launched. There is an increasing drive toward open access publishing, first made popular by arXiv.
Many other important problems have been solved in this century. Examples include the Green–Tao theorem (2004), existence of bounded gaps between arbitrarily large primes (2013), and the modularity theorem (2001). The AKS primality test was published in 2002, which is the first algorithm that can determine whether a number is prime or composite in polynomial time. A proof of Goldbach's weak conjecture was published by Harald Helfgott in 2013; as of 2025, the proof has not yet been fully reviewed. The first einstein was discovered in 2023.
In addition, a lot of work has been done toward long-lasting projects which began in the twentieth century. For example, the classification of finite simple groups was completed in 2008. Similarly, work on the Langlands program has progressed significantly, and there have been proofs of the fundamental lemma (2008), as well as a proposed proof of the geometric Langlands correspondence in 2024.

== Future ==

There are many observable trends in mathematics, the most notable being that the subject is growing ever larger as computers are ever more important and powerful; the volume of data being produced by science and industry, facilitated by computers, continues expanding exponentially. As a result, there is a corresponding growth in the demand for mathematics to help process and understand this big data. Math science careers are also expected to continue to grow, with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating (in 2018) that "employment of mathematical science occupations is projected to grow 27.9 percent from 2016 to 2026."

== See also ==

== Notes ==

== References ==

=== Works cited ===

== Further reading ==

=== General ===
Aaboe, Asger (1964). Episodes from the Early History of Mathematics. New York: Random House.
Bell, E. T. (1937). Men of Mathematics. Simon and Schuster.
Burton, David M. (1997). The History of Mathematics: An Introduction. McGraw Hill.
Grattan-Guinness, Ivor (2003). Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical Sciences. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-7397-3.
Kline, Morris. Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times.
Struik, D. J. (1987). A Concise History of Mathematics, fourth revised edition. Dover Publications, New York.

=== Books on a specific period ===
Gillings, Richard J. (1972). Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Heath, Thomas Little (1921). A History of Greek Mathematics. Oxford, Claredon Press.
van der Waerden, B. L. (1983). Geometry and Algebra in Ancient Civilizations, Springer, ISBN 0-387-12159-5.

=== Books on a specific topic ===
Corry, Leo (2015), A Brief History of Numbers, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198702597
Hoffman, Paul (1998). The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth. Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-6362-5.
Menninger, Karl W. (1969). Number Words and Number Symbols: A Cultural History of Numbers. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-13040-0.
Stigler, Stephen M. (1990). The History of Statistics: The Measurement of Uncertainty before 1900. Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-40341-3.

== External links ==

=== Documentaries ===
BBC (2008). The Story of Maths.
Renaissance Mathematics, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Robert Kaplan, Jim Bennett & Jackie Stedall (In Our Time, Jun 2, 2005)

=== Educational material ===
MacTutor History of Mathematics archive (John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson; University of St Andrews, Scotland). An award-winning website containing detailed biographies on many historical and contemporary mathematicians, as well as information on notable curves and various topics in the history of mathematics.
History of Mathematics Home Page (David E. Joyce; Clark University). Articles on various topics in the history of mathematics with an extensive bibliography.
The History of Mathematics (David R. Wilkins; Trinity College, Dublin). Collections of material on the mathematics between the 17th and 19th century.
Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics (Jeff Miller). Contains information on the earliest known uses of terms used in mathematics.
Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbols (Jeff Miller). Contains information on the history of mathematical notations.
Mathematical Words: Origins and Sources (John Aldrich, University of Southampton) Discusses the origins of the modern mathematical word stock.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians (Larry Riddle; Agnes Scott College).
Mathematicians of the African Diaspora (Scott W. Williams; University at Buffalo).
Notes for MAA minicourse: teaching a course in the history of mathematics. (2009) (V. Frederick Rickey & Victor J. Katz).
Ancient Rome: The Odometer Of Vitruv. Pictorial (moving) re-construction of Vitusius' Roman ododmeter.

=== Bibliographies ===
A Bibliography of Collected Works and Correspondence of Mathematicians archive dated 2007/3/17 (Steven W. Rockey; Cornell University Library).

=== Organizations ===
International Commission for the History of Mathematics

=== Journals ===
Historia Mathematica
Convergence Archived 2020-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, the Mathematical Association of America's online Math History Magazine
History of Mathematics Archived 2006-10-04 at the Wayback Machine Math Archives (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
History/Biography The Math Forum (Drexel University)
History of Mathematics (Courtright Memorial Library).
History of Mathematics Web Sites Archived 2009-05-25 at the Wayback Machine (David Calvis; Baldwin-Wallace College)
Historia de las Matemáticas (Universidad de La La guna)
História da Matemática (Universidade de Coimbra)
Using History in Math Class
Mathematical Resources: History of Mathematics (Bruno Kevius)
History of Mathematics (Roberta Tucci)