Lev Semenovich Pontryagin (Russian: Лев Семёнович Понтря́гин) (3 September 1908 – 3 May 1988) was a Soviet Russian mathematician. He was born in Moscow and lost his eyesight in a primus stove explosion when he was 14. Despite his blindness he was able to become a mathematician due to the help of his mother Tatyana Andreevna who read mathematical books and papers (notably those of Heinz Hopf, J. H. C. Whitehead and Hassler Whitney) to him. He made major discoveries in a number of fields of mathematics, including the geometric parts of topology.