The Nobel Prize in Mathematics has not been won in the past, and it may not be won in the future. Because the will left by Nobel, a famous Swedish chemist, did not propose to set up a mathematics prize. In the first draft of the will, it was proposed to set up this bonus. Why was it cancelled later? There are still various sayings circulating so far.

Gossip theory

Foreign scholars believe that this incident may be related to Nobel's frustration in love. Nobel has a girlfriend who is 13 years younger than him, Sophia, a Vienna girl. Later, Nobel discovered that she had a close personal relationship with a mathematician and eloped together. For his girlfriend eloping with a mathematician, Nobel has always been bitter and greatly stimulated. He never talked about marriage until the end of his life, and Nobel was still a bachelor. It may also be this incident that made Nobel rudely exclude mathematics when he set up specific prizes for the Nobel Prize before his death.

Revenge and revenge theory

This statement is very popular in Sweden. During the Nobel will, the most famous mathematician in Sweden was Mittag Le Friel. Nobel knows very well that if a math prize is set up, it will be awarded to the mathematician at that time, and Nobel doesn't like him very much.

But this statement was later refuted, because there is no evidence that Mittag Le Friel had much contact with Nobel. Similarly, there is no evidence that there is any hostility between them for some reason. On the contrary, in the last period of Nobel's life, Mittag Le Friel actively conducted "diplomatic" negotiations with Nobel, trying to persuade him to put his main energy into the research work of Stockholm Institute.

It is hard to imagine that when Nobel drafted that famous will with great love, he would change his ideal blueprint because of a little personal resentment, leaving a distorted monument for future generations. Another noteworthy fact is that there was already a very famous Scandinavian prize in the field of mathematics. Since this prize exists, maybe Nobel will feel it unnecessary to set up a math prize in the Nobel Prize.

Environmental impact theory of the times

Historians now believe more and more that Nobel's neglect of mathematics was influenced by his time and his scientific outlook. When Nobel 16 years old, he stopped his education in public middle schools and did not go on to college. After that, he only received some private education from an excellent Russian organic chemist. In fact, it was this Russian chemist who attracted Nobel's attention to nitroglycerin in 1855. Nobel is a typical genius inventor in19th century. His invention seems to come more from his keen intuition and extraordinary creativity. Without any knowledge of advanced mathematics, his knowledge of mathematics may not exceed four operations and proportional rate. At that time, that is, in the second half of19th century, the research in the field of chemistry generally did not require advanced mathematics, and the application of mathematics in chemistry occurred after Nobel's death. Nobel himself can't foresee or imagine the great promotion of mathematics to the development of science, so it is not difficult to understand that he neglected the establishment of the Nobel Prize in Mathematics.

As an inventor and industrialist, Nobel decided not to set up the mathematics prize, probably because he had no special interest in mathematics or theoretical science, and he thought that mathematics was not a science from which human beings could directly benefit. In his will, he mentioned that these awards should be used to reward "inventions or discoveries" that have great realization benefits for mankind. Perhaps it is in this spirit that among the Nobel Prize winners in physics over the years, there are far more people engaged in experimental science than theoretical science.

Although there is no mathematics prize in the Nobel Prize, there is a grand prize in the international mathematics field-Fields Prize, which represents the highest achievement in the mathematics field.

The Fields Prize was established at the 9th International Congress of Mathematicians in 1932, and was first awarded in 1936. Named after Canadian mathematician john fields, this prize is awarded to mathematicians under 40 who have made great contributions in the field of mathematics. The prize is evaluated by the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and awarded every four years. No more than four winners at a time, each of them can get a medal made of pure gold and a bonus. The medal is engraved with the head of the Greek mathematician Archimedes and the motto engraved in Latin, "Beyond the limits of mankind, be the master of the universe".

1982, Qiu Chengtong, a Chinese-American mathematician, won the Fields Prize, becoming the first China native to win this honor.