Of Adrew Wiles (of the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem fame), Wikipedia says: "He dedicated all of his research time to this problem for over 6 years in near-to

Of Adrew Wiles (of the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem fame), Wikipedia says: "He dedicated all of his research time to this problem for over 6 years in near-total secrecy, covering up his efforts by releasing prior work in small segments as separate papers."