John Nash's unique approach produced huge leaps in economics and maths

Having solved some of the great theoretical problems and battled mental illness, the remarkable mathematician's death in a car accident seems all the more tragic

The American mathematician John Nash, who was killed on Saturday night in a car crash, was in Oslo five days ago to receive the Abel prize from the king of Norway. The 500,000 Abel - which he shared with Louis Nirenberg - is considered a kind of maths version of the Nobel prize, which has no category for mathematics.

And yet, Nash is also a winner of the Nobel prize, the only person to share both accolades. "I must be an honorary Scandinavian," he joked in March during the press conference that announced this year's Abel laureates.