Democritus of Abdera
 

Born: 460 BC in Abdera, Thrace, Greece
Died: about 370 BC


    Even though he was an outstanding geometer, he is best known for his atomic theory of matter, which consisted of an elaborate and systematic perspective of the physical world.  With his theory, he could explain all changes that occur in the world as changes in motion of atoms or in the way the atoms were arranged.  Also, he was one of the greatest philosophers of physical science among the ancient Greeks, believing that nature behaves like a machine--a highly complex mechanism.  As for his mathematical contributions, little is known other than the titles of some unsurviving texts: On numbers, On geometry, On tangencies, On mappings, and On irrationals. It is also known that he did contribute to applied mathematical problems--dealing with the volume of solids. He was also interested in physics, ethics, and law.

You can find more about Democritus here.

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