History – Classical Antiquity – Mathematical Mysteries

Euclid

Euclid (/ˈjuːklɪd/; Ancient Greek: Εὐκλείδης – Eukleídēs, pronounced [eu̯.kleː.dɛːs]; fl. 300 BC) was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the “founder of geometry” or the “father of geometry”. He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century. In the Elements, Euclid deduced the theorems of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, and mathematical rigour.

“Euclid – Wikipedia”. 2021. en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid.

Additional Reading

“EUCLID OF ALEXANDRIA – The Father of Geometry”. 2021. storyofmathematics.com. https://www.storyofmathematics.com/hellenistic_euclid.html.

The Greek mathematician Euclid lived and flourished in Alexandria in Egypt around 300 BCE, during the reign of Ptolemy I. Almost nothing is known of his life, and no likeness or first-hand description of his physical appearance has survived antiquity, and so depictions of him (with a long flowing beard and cloth cap) in works of art are necessarily the products of the artist’s imagination.

“Understanding Euclid: A Simplified Approach To Mathematical Thinking”. 2020. Medium. https://medium.com/however-mathematics/understanding-euclid-a-simplified-approach-to-mathematical-thinking-625010bec030.

I remember that my mathematical education has started with numbers. First, my father, then later, my elementary teacher, taught me how to count as my elementary math education. However, 2400 years ago, everything was utterly different, and kids were taught geometry first.

Videos

Euclid as the father of geometry | Introduction to Euclidean geometry | Geometry | Khan Academy

We don’t normally delve too far into history when talking about math, but sometimes it’s important to have perspective about how some of our math concepts came about and how influential they have become.