Paul Erdös was the twentieth century's most prolific mathematician, writing or co-authoring over 1,475 papers while alive. Erdös was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 26, 1913. From when he first did mathematics at the age of three until his death at eighty-three, Erdös devoted himself entirely to his passion--the world of numbers. One thing that separated Erdös from many other mathematicians was that he was primarily a problem solver who left it to others to come up with mathematical theories. One of Erdös's strengths was coming up with simple, elegant proofs for theorems that others derived through much lengthier processes. He could quickly solve seemingly unsolvable problems.
Paul Erdös was also an extraordinary person. Mathematics is known for being a solitary pursuit, but Erdös turned it into a social activity. He also exhibited tremendous compassion for Epsilons (small children) and the needy. Despite being so selfless in his interactions with others, Erdös could be exasperating at times. He travelled incessantly and seldom stayed in one place for more than a few nights. The mathematicians with whom he stayed were invariably exhausted by the time he moved on. Erdös used to stoically say, "Another roof, another proof."
Erdös was definitely a singular individual and the world is poorer now that he is no longer among us. Right now, I'm sure he's examining "the Book" (which contains all the SF's most elegant proofs).*
* SF stood for "Supreme Fascist," which was Erdös's name for God, since he believed that if there actually was a God, He wasn't necessarily completely benevolent. It was the SF whom Erdös loved to blame whenever he couldn't find his glasses.
