David Hilbert — German Mathematician born on January 23, 1862, died on February 14, 1943

David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of geometry. He also formulated the theory of Hilbert spaces, one of the foundations of functional analysis... (wikipedia)

Mathematics is a game played according to certain simple rules with meaningless marks on paper.
Physics is becoming too difficult for the physicists.
How thoroughly it is ingrained in mathematical science that every real advance goes hand in hand with the invention of sharper tools and simpler methods which, at the same time, assist in understanding earlier theories and in casting aside some more complicated developments.
If one were to bring ten of the wisest men in the world together and ask them what was the most stupid thing in existence, they would not be able to discover anything so stupid as astrology.
Mathematics knows no races or geographic boundaries; for mathematics, the cultural world is one country.