As we have discussed previously, there is no Nobel Prize in mathematics. This has caused a lot of controversy in the the scientific community over the years.

It goes all the way back in 1899, when Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie found out that he would have no chance to win any of the newly-established prizes. He cried foul and went all the way up to Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway. The king agreed, but the prize had to be put on hold because of... the dissolution of the Kingdom of Sweden and Norway. It took a few years for the newly-Christened Abel Prize (named after Niels Henrik Abel) to take its place besides the Nobels... And by "few", we mean one hundred. The Abel Prize was first awarded in 2001.

Since then, it has established itself as math's Nobel equivalent, even if it comes without the Nobel's pizzazz. Of Abel's 22 laureates so far (some years have more than one winner), eight have been Jews, including previously profiled Peter Lax. For this profile, we're choosing the most recent laureate, Russian-American Jew Gregory Margulius, who not only won the Abel, but math's other two major prizes: the Fields Medal and the Wolf Prize. He is the only one with such a hat-trick.

Alas, no chance at winning that Nobel...