ProofWiki:Mathematicians/Sorted By Birth/0 - 500 CE

For more comprehensive information on the lives and works of mathematicians through the ages, see the MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, created by John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson.

"The army of those who have made at least one definite contribution to mathematics as we know it soon becomes a mob as we look back over history; 6,000 or 8,000 names press forward for some word from us to preserve them from oblivion, and once the bolder leaders have been recognised it becomes largely a matter of arbitrary, illogical legislation to judge who of the clamouring multitude shall be permitted to survive and who be condemned to be forgotten."

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Heron of Alexandria

c. 10 – c. 70 CE

Heron (or Hero) of Alexandria (Greek: Ἥρων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς) was a Greek mathematician and engineer.

Famous for writing about the aeolipile, otherwise known as Hero's Engine (although he didn't actually invent it), and the device known as Heron's fountain.

Also noted for Heron's formula for calculating the area of a triangle whose side lengths are known.
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Nicomachus of Gerasa

c. 60 – c. 120 CE

Nicomachus (Greek: Νικόμαχος) was a Neo-Pythagorean about whom very little is known.

Unusual in that he used the system of Arabic numerals rather than the then-current cumbersome Roman numerals.

Appears to have had more influence than his (perhaps limited) abilities may have merited.
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Menelaus of Alexandria

c. 70 – c. 140 CE

Greek mathematician and astronomer.

Very little is known about him.
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Ptolemy

c. 90 – c. 168 CE

Latin name: Claudius Ptolemaeus, in Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος (Klaúdios Ptolemaîos), but known generally as Ptolemy (pronounced Toll-em-ee).

Roman citizen, of either Greek or Egyptian ancestry.

Mathematician, astronomer and general all-round scientist.

Best known for being the author of several scientific works, including Almagest.
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201 - 300

Diophantus of Alexandria

between 200 and 214 CE – between 284 and 298 CE

Author of a series of books called Arithmetica, most of which are now lost, concerning the solution of algebraic equations.

Sometimes referred to as "the father of algebra", but some claim the title should belong to Al-Khwarizmi.
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Iamblichus Chalcidensis

c. 245 – c. 325

Usually known as Iamblichus. His name in Ancient Greek is Ἰάμβλιχος, probably from Syriac or Aramaic ya-mlku, "He is king".

Assyrian philosopher of the neo-Platonist school.

His main involvement in mathematics concerns the fact that he may have known the fifth perfect number, but there is no hard evidence of this fact.
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Pappus of Alexandria

c. 290 – c. 350

One of the last great Greek mathematicians of antiquity.

Very little is known about him, except that he flourished at around 320 CE through dint of the eclipse of the sun in Alexandria in that year which he discussed in his commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest.

Noted for his multi-volume Collection, and for Pappus's Theorem.
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Serenus of Antinoupolis

c. 300 – c. 360

Egyptian mathematician known for his commentary on the Conics of Apollonius of Perga.

This is now lost. We know about it through the writings of Theon of Alexandria.

Also wrote at least two original works of his own, whose survival is directly due to their association with Conics.
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301 - 400

Theon of Alexandria

c. 335 – 405

Greek: Θέων.

Alexandrian mathematician and astronomer.

Best known for being the father of Hypatia of Alexandria.

His edition of Euclid's The Elements was an authority until well into the 19th century.
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Hypatia of Alexandria

c. 360 – 415

Greek: Ὑπατία.

Egyptian mathematician, astronomer, scientist and philosopher. Daughter of Theon.

Head of Platonist school in Alexandria in c. 400 CE.

Notable for:

• Being the first woman in mathematics notable enough to have been remembered by history;
• Being murdered by a mob of Christians for holding pagan beliefs.

Her death has been argued as signalling the decline of learning in the Western world, and the start of the "dark ages", from which recovery would not happen for another thousand years.
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Sun Tzu

c. 400 – c. 460

Otherwise known as Sun Zi.

Chinese mathematician and astronomer.

Best known for his work on Diophantine equations. His work is the source of the Chinese remainder theorem.
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401 - 500

Proclus Lycaeus

412 – 485

Greek philosopher (usually known as Proclus, also as Proclus Diadochus) who among other things produced a commentary on Book 1 of Euclid's The Elements.
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Zu Chongzhi

429 – 501

Zu Chongzhi (simplified Chinese: 祖冲之; traditional Chinese: 祖冲之; pinyin: Zǔ Chōngzhī; Wade–Giles: Tsu Ch'ung-chih), courtesy name Wenyuan (文遠), was a prominent Chinese mathematician and astronomer.

Father of Zu Geng.

Deriving the most accurate approximation for $\pi$ for over nine hundred years.
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Zu Geng

c. 450 – c. 520

Also known as Zu Gengzhi (simplified Chinese: 祖暅之; traditional Chinese: 祖暅之; pinyin: Zǔ Gèngzhī; Wade–Giles: Tsu Kengchi; 480 - 525), courtesy name Jing Shuo (景烁).

Son of Zu Chongzhi.

Chinese mathematician who determined how to compute the diameter of a sphere of a given volume. He did this using a generalized version of Cavalieri's Principle.
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Āryabhaṭa

476 – 550

Indian mathematician and astronomer.

An early believer in the irrationality of $\pi$, and developed an approximation for it of $3.1416$.
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Eutocius of Ascalon

c. 480 – c. 540

Palestinian philisopher about whom little is known. He wrote commentaries on works of Apollonius and Archimedes.

It is possible that Eutocius studied in Alexandria and became its head.
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