Archimedes

@Inventors, Timeline and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Archimedes was one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians ever born who made incredible inventions and discoveries Greek Engineers Scientists Mathematicians Astronomers Physicists Archimedes of Syracuse was an outstanding ancient Greek mathematician, inventor, physicist, engineer and also an astronomer. Although not much is known about his life, he is considered as one of the most eminent scientists and mathematicians of the classical era. He established strong foundations in the field of mathematics, physics, particularly in statics, hydrostatics and also explained the principle of the lever. In his lifetime, he made many incredible inventions such as designing innovative machines, including screw pumps, compound pulleys and siege machines. He is said to have anticipated modern calculus and analysis and derived a range of geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola. He applied the ‘method of exhaustion’ in calculating the area under the arc of a parabola with the summation of an endless series and gave a precise approximation of pi. He also identified the spiral that bears his name, designed formulae for the volumes of surfaces of revolution and also invented a technique for expressing extremely large numbers.While the inventions of Archimedes were known in the antiquity but his mathematical writings were little known. The first comprehensive compilation of his mathematical writings was not made until c. 530 AD by Isidore of Miletus. The commentaries on the works of Archimedes written by Eutocius in the sixth century AD opened them to a wider audience for the first time. Only a few copies of Archimedes' written work survived through the middle ages and became an influential source of ideas for scientists during the Renaissance. In addition to that, the discovery in 1906 of unknown works by Archimedes in the Archimedes Palimpsest has thrown new light into how he obtained mathematical results.

Personal Details

Birthday: 287 BC Nationality: Greek Famous: Inventors, Engineers, Scientists, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Physicists Known as: Archimedes of Syracuse Discoveries / Inventions: Archimedes' Principle Archimedes' Screw Hydrostatics Levers Infinitesimals Birth Place: Syracuse Gender: Male Information Detail Birthday 287 BC Nationality Greek Famous Inventors, Engineers, Scientists, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Physicists Known as Archimedes of Syracuse Discoveries / Inventions Archimedes' Principle Archimedes' Screw Hydrostatics Levers Infinitesimals Birth Place Syracuse Gender Male Father Phidias Born in Syracuse Famous as Mathematician, Engineer, Inventor, Physicist, Astronomer Died at Age 75

Syracuse

Archimedes born at Unsplash Birth Place

Not much information about his personal life is available but historians believe that he breathed his last somewhere around 212 B.C or 211 B.C. This was when Syracuse was conquered by Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier. Unsplash Personal Life

Archimedes was working on a mathematical diagram when a soldier approached him saying that the general wanted to meet him, but he refused saying that he had to finish his work first. This enraged the soldier and killed Archimedes with his sword. Unsplash Personal Life

Going by Plutarch, Archimedes might have been killed while he was surrendering to the soldier. Archimedes was carrying mathematical instruments which the soldier interpreted to be precious gems. Unsplash Personal Life

He was born around 287 B.C in Syracuse on the island of Sicily, Greece. His father’s name was Phidias who was an astronomer. Going by Plutarch, he might have been related to King of Syracuse, Hieron and his son Gelon. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Heracleides (Archimedes’ friend) had written a biography on him but unfortunately this work had been lost and there is not much information available about his life. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Sources reveal that he started his studies in the school that was established by the Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Egypt. After pursuing his studies, he went back to Syracuse to live in his native city. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

This was one of the most important discoveries by him. This was a method discovered by him that helps in determining the volume of an object with an irregular shape. Unsplash Archimedes' Principle

King Hiero II had supplied pure gold to get a crown made for himself but when he received it he suspected that some silver had been used so he called Archimedes to investigate. While taking bath, Archimedes noticed that the amount of water overflowing the tub was proportional to the portion of his body that was being immersed. It stuck to him that the same would apply to the crown and he could use the proportion of both gold and silver to weigh them in water. Unsplash Archimedes' Principle

It is interesting to note that a number of discoveries made by him were a result of the requirements of his home city – Syracuse. Unsplash Archimedes' Screw

Going by the Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis, King Hiero II gave Archimedes the task of designing a ship, “Syracusia” that could carry large number of people, supplies and could be used as a naval warship. Syracusia was large enough to be able to carry 600 people. It had a gymnasium, a temple that was dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite and also possessed a garden. Unsplash Archimedes' Screw

A ship of this gigantic proportion would leak a huge amount of water through the hull, so Archimedes invented a screw to remove the bilge water (the bilge is the lowest compartment on the ship and the water that collects in this area is called bilge water). The Archimedes’ screw was a device with a revolving screw-shaped blade inside a cylinder. Unsplash Archimedes' Screw

The Archimedes’ screw still holds importance and is used to propel liquids as well as solids like grain and coal. Unsplash Archimedes' Screw

Information	Detail
Birthday	287 BC
Nationality	Greek
Famous	Inventors, Engineers, Scientists, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Physicists
Known as	Archimedes of Syracuse
Discoveries / Inventions	Archimedes' Principle Archimedes' Screw Hydrostatics Levers Infinitesimals
Birth Place	Syracuse
Gender	Male
Father	Phidias
Born in	Syracuse
Famous as	Mathematician, Engineer, Inventor, Physicist, Astronomer
Died at Age	75

Archimedes

Greek

287 BC

Biography

Personal Details

Syracuse