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[[Image:GeorgCantor.png|thumb|right|200px]]

[[Image:GeorgCantor.png|thumb|right|200px]]

'''Georg Cantor''' (1845-1918) was a [[German]] [[mathematician]] who created the field of [[Set_theory|Set Theory]] in several papers written between 1874 and 1897.  His motivation was to understand the [[Christian]] concept of eternity.  He dedicated his last publication to a passage from [[1 Corinthians (Translated)|1 Corinthians]]:  "The time will come when these things which are now hidden from you will be brought into the light."<ref>http://www.acmsonline.org/Dauben-Cantor.pdf</ref>  Cantor was vilified by several leading mathematicians of his time, such as [[Henri Poincare]], but Cantor's revolutionary work proved to be the most influential of all of them.

'''Georg Cantor''' (1845-1918) was a [[German]] [[mathematician]] who created the field of [[Set theory|Set Theory]] in several papers written between 1874 and 1897.  His motivation was to understand the [[Christian]] concept of eternity.  He dedicated his last publication to a passage from [[1 Corinthians (Translated)|1 Corinthians]]:  "The time will come when these things which are now hidden from you will be brought into the light."<ref>http://www.acmsonline.org/Dauben-Cantor.pdf</ref>  Cantor was vilified by several leading mathematicians of his time, such as [[Henri Poincare]], but Cantor's revolutionary work proved to be the most influential of all of them.

David Hilbert praised Cantor as the greatest mathematician since before [[Leonard Euler]].  Hilbert declared, "No one shall expel us from the paradise that Cantor has created for us."  Yet Cantor never lectured at a university about his breakthrough, and his work is an example of the [[best of the public]].

David Hilbert praised Cantor as the greatest mathematician since before [[Leonard Euler]].  Hilbert declared, "No one shall expel us from the paradise that Cantor has created for us."  Yet Cantor never lectured at a university about his breakthrough, and his work is an example of the [[best of the public]].

Cantor invented the concept of cardinality and ordered pairs, and proved that some infinities are larger than others.<ref>http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Cardinal:number.html</ref>

Cantor invented the concept of cardinality and ordered pairs, and proved that some infinities are larger than others.<ref>http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Cardinal:number.html</ref>

Cantor's best known proof is his technique of [[Diagonalization|Cantorian Diagonalization]], a method useful to prove that the [[real numbers]] are larger in [[cardinality]] than the [[integers]].  He is also known for his [[Cantor_set|Cantor Set]]<ref>http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CantorSet.html</ref> and [[Cantor Intersection Theorem]].

Cantor's best known proof is his technique of [[Diagonalization|Cantorian Diagonalization]], a method useful to prove that the [[real numbers]] are larger in [[cardinality]] than the [[integers]].  He is also known for his [[Cantor set|Cantor Set]]<ref>http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CantorSet.html</ref> and [[Cantor Intersection Theorem]].

The set of integers (or their equivalent) is the smallest infinite set.  Cantor's "Continuum Hypothesis" is the conjecture that the set of all real numbers is the ''second'' smallest infinite set.

The set of integers (or their equivalent) is the smallest infinite set.  Cantor's "Continuum Hypothesis" is the conjecture that the set of all real numbers is the ''second'' smallest infinite set.