Born: 28 April 1906 · Died: 14 January 1978 · Age at death: 71
How old was Kurt Gödel when he died?
Kurt Gödel died aged 71. He was born on 28 April 1906 and died on 14 January 1978.
Austrian-American logician whose incompleteness theorems proved that some mathematical truths can never be proved within a system
Did you know?He was a close friend of Albert Einstein and the two often walked home together from the Institute for Advanced Study.
Quick facts
Date of birth28 April 1906
Date of death14 January 1978
Age at death71
Cause of deathStarvation
NationalityAustrian-American
BirthplaceBrno, Czech Republic
Occupationmathematician, university teacher, computer scientist
Editor's Take:
Kurt Gödel shook the foundations of mathematics. Born in Brno, he studied at the University of Vienna and joined the famous Vienna Circle. In 1931, aged 25, he published his incompleteness theorems. They showed that in any consistent system rich enough for arithmetic, some true statements can never be proved. The result stunned mathematicians and philosophers. Fleeing the Nazis, he settled at Princeton, where he became Albert Einstein's closest friend. In later life, fearing poisoning, he refused to eat and starved to death.
Key Milestones
1929: Completeness – theorem
1931: Incompleteness – theorems
1940: Princeton – moves
1949: Rotating universe – solution
Kurt Friedrich Gödel ( GUR-dəl; German:; April 28, 1906 – January 14, 1978) was a logician, mathematician, cosmologist, and philosopher.
