TITLE: Mathematicians ahead of their time?
QUESTION [102 upvotes]: It is said that in every field there’s that person who was years ahead of their time. For instance, Paul Morphy (born 1837) is said to have retired from chess because he found no one to match his technique that very much resembled modern chess theory.
So, who was the Paul Morphy of mathematics?

REPLY [2 votes]: I am pretty sure, Clause Shannon and Alan Turing will also find a place in this list. They may not be bracketed purely as mathematicians, but as applied mathematicians, they surely deserve a place here.