ARCHIMEDES (Greek, c. 287-212 BCE)
Archimedes was one of the ancient world's greatest scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. He was born in the then-Greek city of Syracuse, on Sicily; he died there around 75 years later as the Romans took the city: a Roman soldier killed its most famous son, despite explicit orders to spare him. The siege had been prolonged by weapons he designed to defend the city. His surviving works number around a dozen. One, The Sand Reckoner, addresses the question of how many grains of sand would fit inside the universe. His proudest achievement describes the relationship between spheres and cylinders.
- It's claimed that Archimedes made a great discovery while in the bath, and in his excitement rose and ran through the streets naked shouting "Eureka!" ("I have found it!").
- He is also alleged to have said something like, "Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth."
- Seven of his works were rediscovered in a manuscript in 1906.
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