Pierre de Fermat
Polymath credited with foundational work in number theory and calculus.
Chronology: 1607 – 1665-01-12
Origins & Early Life
Pierre de Fermat (; French: [pjɛʁ də fɛʁma]; 17 August 1601 – 12 January 1665) was a French magistrate, polymath, and mathematician credited for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he is recognized for his discovery of an original method of finding the greatest and the smallest ordinates of curved lines, which is analogous to that of differential calculus, then unknown, and his research into number theory. He made notable contributions to analytic geometry, probability, and optics. He is best known for his Fermat's principle for light propagation and his Fermat's Last Theorem in number theory, which he described in a note at the margin of a copy of Diophantus' Arithmetica.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
He was also a lawyer at the parlement of Toulouse, France, a poet, a skilled Latinist, and a Hellenist. == Biography == Fermat was born in 1601 in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, France — the late 15th-century mansion where Fermat was born is now a museum. He was from Gascony, where his father, Dominique Fermat, was a wealthy leather merchant and served three one-year terms as one of the four consuls of Beaumont-de-Lomagne. His mother was Claire de Long...
Enduring Legacy & Impact
The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.
Source: Wikipedia