Hungarian mathematician who was the son of Farkas Bolyai. When Bolyai began puzzling over Euclid's fifth postulate, his father wrote him "For God's Sake, I beseech you, give it up. Fear it no less than sensual passions because it, too, may take all your time, deprive you of your health, peace of mind, and happiness in life" (Boyer 1968, p. 587). Janos did not heed his father, however, and his work, which paralleled that of Lobachevsky, was published by his father. However, Bolyai's lack of recognition and the publishing of Lobachevsky's work led him to publish nothing more.

Bolyai (Farkas), Lobachevsky

Additional biographies: MacTutor (St. Andrews)