Ludolph van Ceulen

Born in Hildesheim on 28 January 1540, Ludolph van Ceulen devoted years to the painstaking calculation of the mathematical constant pi, using geometric methods to push accuracy far beyond what anyone had achieved before. His work yielded 35 digits, a feat so remarkable that pi became known in parts of Europe as the Ludolphine number. The achievement stood as a benchmark of human patience and precision until newer techniques eventually surpassed it. He died on 31 December 1610, having turned a single irrational number into a monument.