Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was a German scientist who was born to a poor family, in Breselenz, a village in the vicinity of Dannenberg in the Kingdom of Hanover (now known as the Federal Republic of Germany) but became an influential mathematician. At an early age, Riemann showcased extraordinary mathematical skills and unbelievable calculation abilities, but he was timid and underwent numerous nervous breakdowns. He also suffered from diffidence and a phobia of public speaking.
He made an outstanding contributions to number theory, differential geometry and analysis, and there are a number of theorems that bear his name like Riemannian Geometry, Riemann-Lowville differ integral, Riemann Integral and the Riemannian Surfaces. Riemann invented his theory of higher dimensions. In 1854, Riemann laid down the foundation for Einstein’s General theory of Relativity.
He is widely known for his Riemann Hypothesis that indicates issues about the distribution of prime numbers and which was ignored on its first 50 years because of its legendary difficulties. The Clay Maths Institute has offered $1 million for the proof of the theory and one will be a recipient of the Nobel Prize for mathematics for it.
In the spring of 1846 Riemann enrolled at the University of Göttingen. Gauss did lecture to Riemann, but he was only giving elementary courses. Riemann moved from Göttingen to Berlin University in the spring of 1847 to study under Steiner, Jacobi, Dirichlet and Eisenstein.
Riemann always suffered from health problems and that proved fatal for his life in the end.
In the autumn of 1862, Riemann caught a severe cold that eventually took form of the fatal tuberculosis. He died at the age of 39.
His everlasting contributions are still helping in the field of mathematics even after his death.