Born in Syracuse, Sicily, and son of an astronomer, Phidias, Archimedes was one of the three greatest mathematicians of all time – the other two being Newton and Gauss. Among his contributions:
1. Estimation of π;
2. Theorization of most solid geometry;
3. Anticipation of the theory of integration
4. Development weapons of war
5. Founded hydrostatics and statics
6. Invention of the screw pump –still used in many developing countries to “pump out” water
Most of all, he also discovered the principles of hydrostatic (Archimedes’ principle), explaining that the upward force exerted on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body itself.
References:
A. http://www.britannica.com/biography/Archimedes
B. http://apprendre-math.info/anglais/historyDetail.htm?id=Archimedes
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