Euclid

Euclid was a Greek mathematician, known as Euclid of

Alexandria, and often referred to as the “Father of
Geometry.” In Greek, his name means “Good Glory,” as
Euclid is the anglicized version of the Greek name. He is
famous for the treatise Elements, which is considered to
catalog and place much of Greek mathematics on a firm
foundation.
Considered one of the most influential works in the
history of mathematics, Euclid’s work was the main
textbook for teaching mathematics up until the 20th
century. In Elements, the author deduced some
geometrical principles based on a small set of axioms.
Other themes approached in his work include conic
sections, perspective, number theory, spherical
geometry and rigor.
There are few references to Euclid’s life. His education and
even birthplace are still in dispute. Some historical
references were written by Pappus of Alexandria and
Proclus centuries after Euclid’s death (265 BC). Born in
approximately 325 BC, Euclid taught mathematics and was
the founder of the Alexandrian School of Mathematics.
Euclid’s Elements is still recognized as one of the most
prominent books on mathematics in history. In it, he pulls
together materials from others who studied and
researched mathematics before him. He compiled much of
that information along with his own original thoughts and
research in Elements. It includes information about topics
like number theory, algebra, and geometry.
Some say that Abraham Lincoln admitted he felt greatly
influenced by three works: William Shakespeare’s
works, the King James Bible, and Euclid’s Elements. It is
considered an authoritative masterpiece, laying out
carefully and systematically propositions (what can be
proven) and axioms and postulates (what can be
assumed).
The book includes the basic rules of logic, everyday
geometric objects’ precise definitions, and the rules of
arithmetic. Although being an amazing work in the
history of mathematics, it still has its critics. For
example, Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, calls
one of Euclid’s propositions “a tissue of nonsense.”
However, Euclid’s defenders state that the only issue he
had is that he did not study Russell.
Euclid had a few works that survived throughout the
years. For instance, On Divisions of Figures was a work
that focused on geometrical figures. His
work Catoptrics was about mathematical theories of
mirrors. There are some other works that have been
lost, but there is some record of them,
including Conics, Porisms, and Surface Loci, among
several others.
As one of the most well-known mathematicians of all
time, there are many forms of math named after him,
including Euclidean geometry, the Euclidean number,
and the Euclidean algorithm.