Genius Who Defied Mathematical Limits | #AlanBaker #DavidHilbert #NumberTheory #AwardsWorldwide

Added: 2026-05-19

Alan Baker, a British mathematician born in East London in 1914, solved Hilbert's Seventh Problem on transcendental numbers in his 20s, proving that algebraic numbers raised to algebraic powers (other than 1) cannot be rational unless the base is 1 or the exponent is 0. This breakthrough, which David Hilbert himself predicted would outlast the Riemann Hypothesis, earned Baker the Fields Medal at age 31 and revolutionized number theory by providing tools to solve equations that had resisted mathematicians for centuries.