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Birth
Blaise Pascal is born to Étienne Pascal and Antoinette Begon in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He was the third child and the only son. -
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Blaise Pascal
A French mathematician and physical scientist. -
"Elements" - Euclid
Etienne would not let Blaise learn mathematics at an early age. The beginning of Blaise’s education in Paris was geared toward languages such Latin and Greek. However, the fact that mathematics was a forbidden topic made the subject even more interesting to Blaise. At age 12, he began to teach himself geometry, even working out that the sum of a triangle's angles is equal to two right angles. Upon seeing this, his father gave him Euclid's "Elements". -
"Mystical Hexagon"
Blaise accompanied his father to meetings at the mathematics academy in Paris. Blaise presented one of his earliest theorems, his "mystical hexagon." Some of the people in attendance were some of the premier mathematical thinkers of the time, like Marin Mersenne, Pierre Gassendi and Clyde Mydorge. -
The Pascaline
In order to aid his father in calculating taxes owed and paid, Pascal invented a mechanical calculator. It could perform addition and subtraction. Due to its expensive nature and size, it never became a financial success. -
Jansenism
Etienne injured himself from falling on an icy street in Rouen. He was cared for by two Jansenist doctors. Blaise came in contact with Jansenism through these men and even borrowed works by Jansenist authors from them. This was when Pascal converted to Jansenism. -
The Pascal (Pa)
He repeated Torricelli's experiments, by which the pressure of the atmosphere could be estimated as a weight, and he confirmed his theory of the cause of barometrical variations by obtaining at the same instant readings at different altitudes on the hill of Puy-de-Dôme. This was when the Pascal (Pa) unit was created, for use in barometers. -
Probability
He began to correspond with mathematical theorist Pierre de Fermat in 1654. Through their letters and Pascal's own experiments, Pascal discovered that there is a fixed likelihood of any certain outcome when it comes to the roll of the dice. This discovery was the basis of the mathematical theory of probability. -
Pascal's Roulette Machine
Pascal set about trying to create a perpetual motion machine, the purpose of which was to produce more energy than it used. In the process, he stumbled upon an accidental invention. In 1655, Pascal's roulette machine was born. -
Pensées
This is his most famous work regarding philosophy. It also includes his wager. However, this was not published until after his death, in 1669. -
Death
Pascal died of a malignant stomach tumor at his sister Gilbrete's house in Paris on August 19, 1662. By then, the tumor had spread to brain. He was 39 years old at the time of his death.
