Euclid of alexandria short biography

Take a look below for 26 more fun and interesting facts about Euclid.

Euclid born and died date

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 rigor. What we know about him today stems from a mention of Euclid by Archimedes , mentioning him as a contemporary and fellow mathematician. He developed mathematical proofs that are highly regarded for their completeness, and are still in use more than 2, years later.

A detailed biography of Euclid is given by Arabian authors, mentioning, for example, a birth town of Tyre. However, the biography is generally believed to be fictitious. If he came from Alexandria, he would have known the Serapeum of Alexandria, and the Library of Alexandria, and may have worked there during his time. Proclus introduced Euclid only briefly in his Commentary on the Elements.

Although best known for its geometric results, the Elements also includes number theory.