Bernard Bolzano

Bernardus Placidus Johann Nepomuk Bolzano was born in Bohemia on 5 October 1781, the son of an Italian father. He became a Catholic priest, but his liberal views marked him as unusual among the clergy. Working in German, he produced advances in mathematics, logic, philosophy, and theology that found almost no audience during his lifetime. His contributions to mathematical analysis and the foundations of logic were too far ahead of contemporary thought to gain traction. Bolzano died on 18 December 1848, leaving behind work that would only come to prominence after he was gone.