Johann Carl Frierich Gauss (IPA: /ˈɡaʊs/, Audio (help·info), German: Gauß, Latin: Carolus Fridericus Gauss) (30 April 1777 – 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician and scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, electrostatics, astronomy, and optics. Sometimes known as the princeps mathematicorum (Latin, usually translated as "the Prince of Mathematicians", although Latin princeps also can simply mean "the foremost") and "greatest mathematician since antiquity", Gauss had a remarkable influence in many fields of mathematics and science and is ranked as one of history's most influential mathematicians.