Gottlob Frege
1848–1925 · German (Wismar) · Late 19th Century
Known for: Invented modern mathematical logic, got destroyed by Russell's Paradox, and spent his final years writing antisemitic diary entries
Frege's Begriffsschrift (1879) and Foundations of Arithmetic created modern predicate logic and the philosophy of mathematics. He was building the foundations of mathematics from pure logic when Bertrand Russell sent him a letter showing a fatal paradox in his system. Frege's appendix acknowledging the problem is one of the most poignant passages in intellectual history.
His late diaries contain virulently antisemitic entries that horrified posthumous scholars.
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