John Forbes Nash, Jr.

Date of Birth: June 13, 1928

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Date of Death: May 23, 2015

Biography

John Forbes Nash, Jr. was an American mathematician renowned for his contributions to game theory, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. Born on June 13, 1928, in Bluefield, West Virginia, Nash displayed an early interest in mathematics, which he pursued with fervor throughout his life. He graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) with both a B.S. and M.S. in mathematics in 1948. He then went on to Princeton University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1950 with a dissertation on non-cooperative games, a concept that later became known as the Nash equilibrium. Nash’s groundbreaking work in game theory earned him the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1994, sharing the honor with Reinhard Selten and John Harsanyi. Despite achieving professional success, Nash’s life was marred by struggles with paranoid schizophrenia, a condition that led to several hospitalizations and a period of relative obscurity. His remarkable life story was the subject of the 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind,” which brought his achievements and personal battles to a broader audience. In his later years, Nash continued to contribute to the field of mathematics and remained an active academic until his death. Tragically, John Nash and his wife Alicia died in a car accident on May 23, 2015, while returning home from Norway after receiving the Abel Prize.

5 Interesting Facts about John Forbes Nash, Jr.

1. John Nash was awarded the Abel Prize in 2015, one of the highest honors in mathematics.

2. Nash’s life and struggles with mental illness were chronicled in the book “A Beautiful Mind” by Sylvia Nasar, which was later adapted into an Oscar-winning film.

3. Nash’s concept of the Nash equilibrium has applications in various fields, including economics, evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, and political science.

4. He worked as a C. L. E. Moore instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1951 to 1959.

5. Despite his illness, Nash made a significant academic comeback in the 1980s and 1990s, contributing to the field of mathematics until his death.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from John Forbes Nash, Jr.

1. “I’ve made the most important discovery of my life. It’s only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reasons can be found.”

2. “The ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way that my mathematical ideas did, so I took them seriously.”

3. “Rational thought imposes a limit on a person’s concept of his relation to the cosmos.”

4. “I wouldn’t have had good scientific ideas if I had thought more normally.”

5. “People are always selling the idea that people with mental illness are suffering. I think madness can be an escape. If things are not so good, you maybe want to imagine something better.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

At the peak of his career, John Nash’s net worth was estimated to be around $5 million, primarily derived from his academic positions, Nobel Prize award, and royalties from the book and film adaptations of his life.

Children

John Nash had two sons. His first son, John David Stier, was born from his relationship with Eleanor Stier. His second son, John Charles Martin Nash, known as Johnny, was born from his marriage to Alicia Lardé Nash.