Mathematicians

Charles-Jean de la Vallee Poussin

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Also Known As Charles-Jean Etienne Gustave Nicolas, baron de la Vallee Poussin

Modern

Citation Formats

General Reference

Mathematics Atlas. "Charles-Jean de la Vallee Poussin." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://mathematics.interactiveatlas.org/mathematicians/charles-de-la-vallee-poussin.

APA Style

Mathematics Atlas. (n.d.). Charles-Jean de la Vallee Poussin. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://mathematics.interactiveatlas.org/mathematicians/charles-de-la-vallee-poussin

BibTeX

@misc{mathematicsatlas-charles-jean-de-la-vallee-poussin,
  author = {Mathematics Atlas},
  title = {Charles-Jean de la Vallee Poussin},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://mathematics.interactiveatlas.org/mathematicians/charles-de-la-vallee-poussin},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Charles-Jean de la Vallee Poussin was a Belgian mathematician best known for proving the prime number theorem in 1896, independently of Jacques Hadamard.

Facts

Birth Date

1866-08-14 1

Birth Year

1866 1

Death Date

1962-03-02 1

Death Year

1962 1

Birthplace

Leuven (Louvain), Belgium 1

Death Place

Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels, Belgium 1

Wikipedia's infobox gives Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels; MacTutor gives Louvain instead. Recorded per Wikipedia's infobox as the more specific claim; the conflict is unresolved between the two sources.

Nationality / Culture

Belgian 1

Defining Contribution

De la Vallee Poussin proved the prime number theorem in 1896, independently of Jacques Hadamard's proof the same year. 2

Notable Work

Proved the prime number theorem (1896), independently of Jacques Hadamard. 1

Award

Poncelet Prize (1916); Belgian Decennial Prize for Pure Mathematics (1905, 1924); created Baron by King Albert I of Belgium (1928). 1

Cross-Tradition Connections