Hilbert, David (1862-1943), a German mathematician, made fundamental contributions to many areas of mathematics, including number theory, set theory, and geometry. Hilbert was known as a formalist. He thought that mathematics comprised a formal, consistent system of rules. Much of his work involved axioms, basic logical assumptions that underlie mathematical knowledge and reasoning. Hilbert also worked to establish a firm mathematical and axiomatic foundation for the science of physics.
Hilbert was born on Jan. 23, 1862, in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). He attended the University of Königsberg, part of Germany at the time, and received his doctorate degree in mathematics in 1885. In 1895, he joined the faculty at the University of Göttingen, working there for the rest of his life. Hilbert helped build the university’s mathematics department into the most prestigious in the world. Hilbert had 69 doctoral students who spread his influence widely.
In 1900, Hilbert gave a famous lecture in Paris describing 23 major unsolved problems in mathematics. Since then, mathematicians have been inspired by these problems, and a few of the problems have been solved. Hilbert also conceived of a famous mathematical paradox that became known as the Grand Hotel paradox. A paradox is an idea that seems to contradict itself. Hilbert envisioned a hotel with infinitely many rooms. Even if all the rooms are occupied, the hotel can still accommodate a new guest—by shifting each current guest to the room with the next higher room number. Hilbert died on Feb. 14, 1943. One of his famous statements, ”We must know, we will know,” is inscribed in German on his tombstone.
