History of Geometry

By SMonaghan
  • 2500 BCE

    Egyptian Pyramids

    First Egyptian pyramids constructed using masterful planning as well as sharp and detailed understanding of geometrical shapes and concepts.
  • 2000 BCE

    Herons Formula

    This was the first known instance of someone correctly mapping the area of a triangle with a pre-determined formula in recorded history
  • 1800 BCE

    Moscow Papyrus

    The Moscow Mathematical Papyrus was a document discovered containing 25 new ideas in mathematical and geometrical history
  • 1650 BCE

    Rhind Papyrus

    The Rhind Papyrus was an 18 feet wide document containing 48 new problems revolving mostly around dealing with fractions
  • 800 BCE

    2's Square Root

    Baudhayana, author of the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, a Vedic Sanskrit geometric text, contains quadratic equations, and calculates the square root of 2 correct to five decimal places
  • 700 BCE

    The Shatapatha Brahmana

    The Shatapatha Brahmana is a prose text describing Vedic rituals, history and mythology associated with the Śukla Yajurveda
  • 628 BCE

    Brahmagupta's Formula

    Brahmagupta's formula: The area, A, of a cyclic quadrilateral with sides of lengths a, b, c, d, respectively, is given by
  • Period: 624 BCE to 546 BCE

    Thales of Miletus

    Created and proved Thales Theorem DE/BC=AE/AC=AD/AB
  • 600 BCE

    Pythagorean Triples

    the other Vedic “Sulba Sutras” (“rule of chords” in Sanskrit) use Pythagorean triples, contain of a number of geometrical proofs, and approximate π at 3.16
  • Period: 570 BCE to 495 BCE

    Pythagoras

    Pythagorean theorem is named after him although its not been proven that he ever even existed A2+B2=C2
  • 455 BCE

    Zeno's Paradoxes

    A set of philosophical problems generally thought to have been devised by Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea
  • 450 BCE

    Greeks use numerals

    First recorded incident of written numerals in Greece
  • Period: 427 BCE to 347 BCE

    Plato

    a philosopher that is highly esteemed by the Greeks. There is a story that he had inscribed above the entrance to his famous school, "Let none ignorant of geometry enter here." However, the story is considered to be untrue. He was NOT a mathematician however his views helped shape many concepts
  • 410 BCE

    After Achimedes

    After Archimedes died hellenistic geometry started to decline in popularity
  • 387 BCE

    Plato's Polyhedra

    Plato founds the Academy in Athens. He identifies five polyhedra now known as Platonic bodies
  • 360 BCE

    Eudoxus Rational and Irrational Comparison

    Eudoxus makes a definition allowing the possibility of using irrational lengths and comparing them with rational lengths by using cross multiplication
  • 340 BCE

    Pappus Of Alexandria

    Pappus of Alexandria states his hexagon theorem and his centroid theorem
  • Period: 325 BCE to 265 BCE

    Euclid

    Euclid is considered to be one of the three greatest mathematicians of all time. He discovered Euclidean geometry which use his axioms and theorems as they relate to plane and solid figures
  • 300 BCE

    The Elements

    Euclid writes The Elements, a book discussing Euclidean geometry. The Elements is a collection of 13 books of definitions, postulates, and axioms. It became the 3rd most popular book in the world, after the Koran and the Bible
  • Period: 287 BCE to 212 BCE

    Archimedes

    Archimedes is regarded as the greatest Greek mathematician. He invented 3 simple machines, the pulley, screw, and lever. The Archimedes screw, a device used for raising water, is still in use today. He also analyzed the area of a circle and discovered how to calculate volumes and surface areas of spheres and cylinders
  • 250 BCE

    Volume of a cylinder

    Archimedes discovers the formula for how to calculate the volume of a cylinder
  • 235 BCE

    The Earth's Circumference

    Eratosthenes estimates the circumference of the Earth, only missing by about 15%
  • 140 BCE

    Hipparchus develops the bases of trigonometry

  • 100 BCE

    The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art

    The Nine Chapters on The Mathematical Art lays out an approach to mathematics that centers on finding the most general methods of solving problems
  • 628

    Area of an Encircled Quadrilateral

    Brahmagupta created a formula for finding the area of a quadrilateral, with sides a,b,c,d, enclosed by a circle: A = The Sq. Root of (s-a)(s-b)(s-c)(s-d). S is the semi-perimeter, is found by the formula s=(a+b+c+d)/2