ProofWiki:Mathematicians/Blaise Pascal
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French mathematician and philosopher who explored probability theory and projective geometry.
Most famous for the construction now commonly known as Pascal's Triangle.
Contents |
Nationality
French
History
- Born: June 19, 1623, Clermont (now Clermont-Ferrand), Auvergne, France
- Died: August 19, 1662, Paris, France
Theorems and Definitions
- Pascal's Wager (employing probability theory to answer deep philosophical questions)
- Pascal's Triangle
- Pascal's Law (a physical law lying at the basis of hydrostatics)
- Pascal's Rule
- Pascal's Theorem (concerning a hexagon inscribed in a conic section)
Books and Papers
- 1639: Essai pour les coniques
- 1647: Experiences nouvelles touchant le vide
- 1653: Traité du triangle arithmétique (in which Pascal's Triangle is discussed)
- 1656–7: Lettres provinciales
- 1657 or 1658: De l'Esprit géométrique
- 1661: Écrit sur la signature du formulaire
- Also: Pensées (incomplete at his death)
Also see
- Eric Temple Bell: Men of Mathematics (1937): Chapter $\text{V}$
- George F. Simmons: Calculus Gems (1992): Chapter $\text {A}.16$
