Mathematicians

By samuel samples

Mathematicians

Zeno, a student of Parmenides, had great fame in ancient Greece. This fame, which continues to the present-day, is largely due to his paradoxes of infinitesimals, e.g. his argument that Achilles can never catch the tortoise (whenever Achilles arrives at the tortoise's last position, the tortoise has moved on). Although some regard these paradoxes as simple fallacies, they have been contemplated for many centuries. It is due to these paradoxes that the use of infinitesimals, which provides the basis for mathematical analysis, has been regarded as a non-rigorous heuristic and is finally viewed as sound only after the work of the great 19th-century rigorists, Dedekind and Weierstrass.

Pitcher of Zean paradoxes

Anuther mathematician is

Emilie du chattel

In spite of her talents in the area of languages, her true love was mathematics. Her study in this area was encouraged by a family friend, M. de Mezieres, who recognized the young lady's talent. Emilie's work in mathematics was rarely original or as captivating as that of other female mathematicians but it was substantive. The fact that it was accomplished in the first place is in itself remarkable.

Emilie du chatelet

Gabrielle-Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil was born in Paris on December 17, 1706. Education of girls at that time was either in convent schools or at home. Emilie was taught at home, and showed great academic promise at a young age. It was the opinion of those close to her that she would have no great beauty, so excellent tutors and governesses were engaged to foster her intellect. Emilie proved to be a natural linguist, and mastered Latin, Italian, and English. She studied Virgil, Tasso, Milton, Horace, and Cicero. She also learned to ride and fence, but her true love was mathematics.

Emilie's translation and algebraic commentary on the Principia remain her best known work. She made Newton work available to French scholars, and her synthesis contributed to the development of Newtonian science. The work, to which Voltaire added a historical preface, was finally published in 1759, ten years after Emilie du Chelate death. It was reprinted in 1966, and remains the only French translation of the Principia.

Rene descartes

He was born in France, but spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. His philosophical writing is influential to many, and some refer to him as the Father or Modern Philosophy. He continued his work up through his final days, which he spent in Sweden. Descartes was well known and well respected amongst his peers.

My resources is

Mathematics.com

Wikipedia.org

History manthematies.com