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Yutaka Taniyama (谷山 豊, November 12, 1927 – November 17, 1958) was a Japanese mathematician, best known for conjecturing the Taniyama-Shimura theorem after a meeting with André Weil, whose statement he subsequently refined in collaboration with Goro Shimura. The names Taniyama, Shimura and Weil have all been attached to this conjecture, but the idea is essentially due to Taniyama. In 1986 Ribet proved that if the conjecture held, then so would Fermat's Last Theorem, which inspired Andrew Wiles to work for a number of years in secrecy on it, and to prove enough of it to prove Fermat's Last Theorem. Due to the pioneering contribution of Wiles and the efforts of a number of mathematicians the conjecture was finally proven in 1999.For reasons he was unable to explain, even to himself, Taniyama committed suicide by leaping out of a window. He left a note explaining how far he had gotten with his teaching duties, and apologizing to his colleagues for the trouble he was causing them. His mystifying suicide note read Until yesterday I had no definite intention of killing myself. ... I don't quite understand it myself, but it is not the result of a particular incident, nor of a specific matter.
About a month later the girl who he was planning to marry also committed suicide.
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Taniyama Yutaka
Taniyama Yutaka
Taniyama Yutaka
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