Which mathematician’s last theorem was proved by Andrew Wiles in the 1990s?

Pierre de Fermat’s Last Theorem was proved by Andrew Wiles in the 1990s.

The theorem states that no positive integers a, b, and c satisfy aⁿ + bⁿ = cⁿ when n is an integer greater than 2. Fermat wrote a related claim in the margin of a book around 1637, famously asserting that he had found a “marvelous proof” too large to fit in the margin. No proof by Fermat was ever discovered.

The problem resisted mathematicians for more than three centuries. Andrew Wiles announced a proof in 1993, but a gap was found during checking. Wiles, working with Richard Taylor, repaired the argument, and the final proof was published in 1995.

The proof used advanced twentieth-century mathematics, especially elliptic curves and modular forms. This means the solution was far removed from the elementary equation that states the theorem. Fermat’s earlier result for exponent four was proved by Fermat himself using infinite descent.