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560 BCE
Pythagoras- The Master Teacher was born
Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher and religious leader responsible for important developments in mathematics, astronomy, and music theory. Contributions of Pythagoras
-was the first to use letters on geometric figures
-provided the first logical proof of the theorem a^2+b^2=c^2 (http://www.teachertube.com/video/the-pythagorean-theorem-rap-87461)
-divided all numbers into even and odd
-demonstrated the construction of the 5 regular solids
-asserted that the earth was round -
276 BCE
Eratosthenes- The Earth Measurer
Eratosthenes was a Greek Mathematician who was born in Cyrene which is a colony just west of Egypt. Contributions of Eratosthenes
-accurately calculating circumference of the earth
-developed mathematical procedure for finding prime numbers, Eratosthenes' sieve (http://www.teachertube.com/video/sieve-of-eratosthenes-300924) -
10
Heron- The Ingenious Engineer
Heron of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician. He was also referred to as Hero. Contributions of Heron
-discovered the formula for Area of a triangle (http://www.teachertube.com/video/course-1-lesson-79-area-of-a-triangle-411105)
-method for finding the square roots of numbers
-designed many mechanical devices such as toys, fire engine and wind organ -
Jun 1, 624
Thales- The Problem Solver
Thales was a Greek from Miletus. He traveled throughout Egypt and Babylon. Contributions of Thales
-studied geometry and was the first to state the following theorems
- a circle is bisected by its diameter
-angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal
-when two straight lines cut each other, the vertically opposite angles are equal
-the inscribed angle in a semicircle is a right angle -
Feb 1, 1550
Napier- The 16th Century "Mathemagician"
John Napier was a scottish mathematician who studied at the University of St. Andrews. Contributions of Napier
-inventor of logarithms, which made numerical calculations faster and more accurate
-developed Napier Rods for simplifying calculations. These rods were later used during Lattice Multiplication (http://www.teachertube.com/video/the-lattice-method-of-multiplication-66936)
-the first to consistently use the decimal point to separate the whole number from the fractional part of a number. -
Pascal- Launcher of the Computer Age
Blaise Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France and later moved to Paris.
Contributions of Pascal
-invented and sold the first adding machine (calculator) at age 17
-recognized the power of patterns by discovering Pascal's Triangle (http://www.teachertube.com/video/pascals-triangle-192604)
-designed the wheelbarrow
-enjoyed studying the nature of pain -
Joseph Lagrange- Making Measurement Metric
Joseph Lagrange was a French mathematician born in Turin, Italy. He taught in Turin, Berlin and Paris. He lived to be 77 years old. Contributions of Lagrange
-developed the metric system
-very interested in number theory
-constructed the first proof, Lagrange's Four Square Theorem -
Charles Dodgson- Mathematician in Wonderland
Charles Dodgson, pen name Lewis Carroll, was born in Cheshire England. Dodgson is best known for writing Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. These stories have many mathematical concepts and ideas hidden throughout them. (https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/devlin_03_10.html) He is also know for many logic games and puzzles. -
George Polya- Father of Problem Solving
George Polya was a Hungarian mathematician who taught in Vienna and Zurich before moving to the United States in 1940. Contributions of Polya
-best known for work in function theory, probability and applied mathematics.
-very interested in problem solving
wrote a book on how to solve work problems. He often advised students to "guess and test" when solving word problems.
-profoundly influenced how math is taught, let them learn guessing, let them learn proving.
