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Piet Hein

20th-century Danish mathematician, inventor, designer, writer and poet (1905-1996) · Denmark · On the map · Academics · Died at 90

Piet Hein was a Danish polymath, often writing under the Old Norse pseudonym Kumbel, meaning "tombstone". His short poems, known as gruks or grooks, first started to appear in the daily newspaper Politiken shortly after the German occupation of Denmark in April 1940 under the pseudonym "Kumbel Kumbell".

Piet Hein is read about 66 times a day, in 34 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 110 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

1996Died17 April 19961991Honorary Doctor of Odense UniversityAward1985Ingenio et artiAward1978Läkerol's Culture AwardAward1975Honorary craftsmanAward1972Doctor of Humane LettersAward1969Emil Aarestrup MedalAward1905Born16 December 1905

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Awards

Honorary Doctor of Odense University1991
Ingenio et arti1985
Läkerol's Culture Award1978
Honorary craftsman1975
Doctor of Humane Letters1972
Emil Aarestrup Medal1969

About this person

He also invented the Soma cube and the board game Hex.

Country
Denmark
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
Deceased
Dates
Lived 1905 to 1996 · aged 90

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