What was euclids accomplishments

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Additional Resources show. This edition was published in The five postulates taken from this edition Another page from this edition.

The first page of The Elements published in This was the first Latin translation directly from the Greek. Honours show. Cross-references show. History Topics: How do we know about Greek mathematics? It is commonly accepted that Euclid died around BC.

His place of death was most likely in Alexandria, Egypt. This is supported by the fact that Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes makes mention of Euclid. Supporters of this notion also state that Euclid wrote his works before Archimedes wrote his. Such was the prominence of Euclid the Geometer that Ptolemy I Soter sought the mathematician once, inquiring for shorter route to geometry than through the Elements.

At which point, Euclid responded that geometry has no royal road. The verdict is still out on that one. Quote by Euclid of Alexandria, the Father of Geometry.

Euclidean geometry encompasses the various theorems that Euclid and other geometers of his era deduced from a number of axioms. Euclidean geometry uses deductive reasoning to attain propositions theorems from the axioms. The methods used in Euclidean geometry played a crucial role in advancing logic, a host of areas in mathematics, and many other disciplines in modern science. In the two millennia that followed the death of Euclid, the geometry that he and his colleagues conceived — i.

Euclidean geometry — was the standard in the study of geometry and mathematics. From the 19 th century onward, mathematicians and scientists alike have conceived of a number of non-Euclidean geometries, including analytic geometry also known as coordinate geometry , hyperbolic geometry and elliptic geometry.

However, reading beyond Book IV will expose the reader to mathematical concepts outside of geometry. Euclid paid close attention to establishing a very strong foundation of sound geometry so as to help the reader gain better understanding of the concepts in the subsequent books. The books capture many concepts, propositions, constructions and mathematical proofs in not just Euclidean geometry, but also basic number theory and incommensurable lines. In Book I of the Elements , Euclid exposes the reader to basic concepts and definitions including definitions of a point and a line.

This is followed up by simple shapes like triangles, rectangles and parallelograms. The book also contains a number of axioms postulates and notions. It concludes with the famous Pythagorean theorem conceived by Pythagoras of Samos, an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and mathematician. However, the verdict is still out on which part of the book is his own idea or adaptations from other mathematicians. In no way do those assertions take anything away from brilliance of those books; they were truly masterpieces.

Euclid of Alexandria Quote: Proclus on Euclid. Those theorems cover geometric figures as well as the equality of rectangles and squares. Book II, a geometric algebraic book, covers lines and how when a line is divided into two parts can produce ratio of a larger segment to the smaller segment equal to the ratio of the original line to the larger segment. The works of Pythagoras c. Book III of the Elements dives into the properties of circles. It draws heavily on the works of Hippocrates of Chios c.

Book V moves away from plane geometry and introduces theory of ratios and proportions. Euclid picked a lot from Eudoxus of Cnidus c. According to Proclus, Book V of the Elements can be read independently of the rest of the first four books. Book V, which incorporates a lot of irrational numbers, basically serves as a foundation for a geometric theory of numbers.

In Book VI of the Elements , Euclid compiles extant literature on the theory of ratios to plane geometry, triangles and parallelograms. He, among other Ancient Greek scholars, has left a legacy of thought that many scholars and academics today continue to follow. He was in no way documented biographically, at least in terms of detail and depth.

He was mentioned by several other Greek thinkers, such as Pappas of Alexandria. Praclus is also known to have written about him. These quotes about him are also not certain, since much history about scholars was in fact legend and myth in the times of Ancient Greece. Historians today certainly try to reconstruct his life history and better understand his work in contexts that we are now aware of today — a man of such impact during his time is still recognized today as a hero of thought.

For more information on Euclid you can read directly from his textbook Elements , which is available at amazon. All rights reserved. Euclid As the Father of Geometry A common misconception is that Euclid invented all concepts of geometry.