The János Bolyai International Mathematics Award

In honour of the 100th anniversary of the birth of world-famous Hungarian mathematician János Bolyai, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences established an international award of ten-thousand crowns for outstanding mathematical works in 1902.

In addition to preserving the memory of Bolyai, the original aim of the award was to fill the gap left by the Nobel Prize in mathematics.

The first laureate in 1905 was Henri Poincaré of France, one of the most versatile mathematicians of the 19th century, and in 1910 David Hilbert of Germany received the award. The awarding of the medal was interrupted after the outbreak of the First World War.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences re-founded the award in 1994, calling it the János Bolyai International Mathematics Award. The award provides the winner USD 25,000 and a gold-plated bronze medallion made using the original designs.

The Bolyai Prize is awarded every fifth year by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to the author of the most outstanding, ground-breaking mathematical monograph presenting his/her own new results and methods published anywhere and in any language in the preceding fifteen (previously ten) years, taking into account the author’s previous scientific work.

One year before the prize is awarded, the Section of Mathematics elects a committee consisting of five regular members and five outstanding foreign mathematicians and appoints its chairman. The committee reports on its decision to the department chairman no later than three months before the award is presented. The committee itself chooses its presenter from among its members, who presents the awardee’s work in detail and prepares a written report. The president also votes in the committee, with his/her vote being the deciding one in the event of a tie.