Gödel, Kurt

Kurt Gödel, Gödel also spelled Goedel, (born April 28, 1906, Brünn, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Rep.]—died Jan. 14, 1978, Princeton, N.J., U.S.), Austrian-born mathematician, logician, and philosopher who obtained what may be the most important mathematical result of the 20th century: his famous incompleteness theorem, which states that within any axiomatic mathematical system there are propositions that cannot be proved or disproved on the basis of the axioms within that system; thus, such a system cannot be simultaneously complete and consistent. This proof established Gödel as one of the greatest logicians since Aristotle, and its repercussions continue to be felt and debated today.