Johann Benedict Listing

German mathematician

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July 16, 2026

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Johann Benedict Listing was a German mathematician known for his early contributions to the field of topology. He published "Introductory Studies in Topology" in 1847, which is often cited as the first use of the term "topology". Listing is also credited with discovering the Möbius strip, a one-sided surface, a few months before August Ferdinand Möbius, though Möbius published his findings first. Listing's work laid foundational concepts for what would become a major branch of mathematics, exploring properties of objects that remain unchanged under continuous deformations.12

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Möbius strip
History
August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing. Möbius, known for his work in geometry and astronomy, and Listing, who coined the term “topology,” encountered the structure in their exploration of spatial properties and surfaces.
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August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing. Möbius, known for his work in geometry and astronomy, and Listing, who coined the term “topology,” encountered the structure in their exploration of spatial properties and surfaces.
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topology
History of topology
…called, was the German mathematician Johann Listing, who published Vorstudien zur Topologie (1847; “Introductory Studies in Topology”), which is often cited as the first print occurrence of the term topology. In 1851 the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann considered surfaces related to complex number theory and, hence, utilized combinatorial topology as…
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…called, was the German mathematician Johann Listing, who published Vorstudien zur Topologie (1847; “Introductory Studies in Topology”), which is often cited as the first print occurrence of the term topology. In 1851 the German mathematician Bernhard Riemann considered surfaces related to complex number theory and, hence, utilized combinatorial topology as…
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August Ferdinand Möbius
The German mathematician Johann Benedict Listing had discovered it a few months earlier, but he did not publish his discovery until 1861. Möbius’s Gesammelten Werke, 4 vol. (“Collected Works”), appeared in 1885–87.
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The German mathematician Johann Benedict Listing had discovered it a few months earlier, but he did not publish his discovery until 1861. Möbius’s Gesammelten Werke, 4 vol. (“Collected Works”), appeared in 1885–87.
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