In 2003, Perelman, a Saint Petersburg native, became known for solving the Poincaré conjecture, the solution that had eluded mathematicians for almost a century.
In 2006, Perelman was awarded a Fields Medal for this work, but declined to accept it. Sir John Ball, president of the International Mathematical Union, spent a chilly day in Saint Petersburg trying to convince Perelman to accept it, but failed miserably.
In 2010, Perelman was awarded a $1 million Millennium Prize, but once again Perelman declined it.
“I'm not interested in money or fame.” he was quoted as saying when declining the award.
Perelman lives with his mother in a spartan apartment in a St. Petersburg suburb. He plays a violin.
Overall, he is a sample of the true Soviet person. He was raised in the USSR. He is aimed at creation and achievements, not money. A really rare species nowadays.
Gallery:
Year 1980. Grigory and other winners of All-USSR Olympiad on mathematics.
Year 1982. Soviet participants of XXIII International Mathematical Olympiad, Budapest, Hungary. Left to right: V. Titenko, K. Matveev, A. Spivak, G. Perelman.
Year 1985. Grigory is a student of the Leningrad State University, Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Perelman
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