A leading mathematician Martin Gardner has passed away at the ripe age of 95. He wrote more than 70 books on topics as diverse as magic, philosophy and literature. Garner was writing a column in Scientific American for the last 25 years. He had a lot of admirers including W. H. Auden, Arthur C. Clarke, Jacob Bronowski, Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan and Vladimir Nabokov.

The writings of Gardner inspired and intrigued a lot of people. Leading experts have confirmed that Gardener was among the top intellectuals of the 20th century. An asteroid is also named after him. Many people were surprised and offended by the work and activities of Gardner but he was least bothered with anyone.

He was born on Oct. 21, 1914, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father was a petroleum geologist and also started an oil Company. From an early age, Gardener was interested in a lot of things. He also liked magic tricks, chess, science and collecting mechanical puzzles.

He was also interested in literature and wrote a sequel to Baum’s “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” called “Visitors from Oz”. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1936 and majored in philosophy. He also worked in the navy.

He first started to write in Scientific American in 1956. Gardner stayed in New York for most of his life. He was also a founding member of Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.