János Bolyai

János Bolyai
Portrait by Ferenc Márkos (2012)
Born(1802-12-15)15 December 1802
Died27 January 1860(1860-01-27) (aged 57)
EducationTherMilAk (diploma, 1822)
Known forNon-Euclidean geometry
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
Academic advisorsFarkas Bolyai

János Bolyai (/ˈbɔːljɔɪ/; Hungarian: [ˈjaːnoʃ ˈboːjɒi]; 15 December 1802 – 27 January 1860) or Johann Bolyai, was a Hungarian mathematician who developed absolute geometry—a geometry that includes both Euclidean geometry and hyperbolic geometry. The discovery of a consistent alternative geometry that might correspond to the structure of the universe helped to free mathematicians to study abstract concepts irrespective of any possible connection with the physical world.