Raoul Bott was a prominent mathematician known for his significant contributions to the fields of topology and algebraic geometry. Born on September 24, 1923, in Budapest, Hungary, he later moved to the United States, where he became a professor at several prestigious institutions, including Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. Bott is best known for the Bott periodicity theorem, which has important implications in both mathematics and theoretical physics. His work has influenced various areas, including differential topology and homotopy theory, making him a key figure in 20th-century mathematics until his passing on December 20, 2005.