Euclid

Easton Press Euclid books

Euclid's Elements of Geometry - 2002

Franklin Library Euclid books

Works of Archimedes, Apollonius, Euclid and Nicomachus - Great
Books of the Western World - 1985

 

Who was Euclid?

Euclid, the ancient Greek mathematician often referred to as the "Father of Geometry," made significant contributions to the field of mathematics that continue to influence the subject to this day. Although details about his life are sparse and often shrouded in legend, Euclid's impact on mathematics and his enduring legacy are widely acknowledged. Euclid is believed to have lived around 300 BCE in Alexandria, a center of learning and scholarship in ancient Greece. Little is known about his personal life, and even the dates of his birth and death remain uncertain. His fame primarily rests on his monumental work, "Elements," a comprehensive compilation of mathematical knowledge of his time.

Elements is a collection of thirteen books covering various aspects of mathematics, including geometry, number theory, and mathematical logic. Euclid's systematic and rigorous approach to presenting mathematical concepts in a deductive manner laid the foundation for the axiomatic method, where a small set of self-evident truths, known as axioms, form the basis for building a complex system of theorems and proofs. One of Euclid's most enduring contributions is his development of Euclidean geometry, which encompasses the study of points, lines, planes, and solids and their properties. His work on geometry became the standard reference for mathematicians for many centuries. Euclid's Elements was widely used as a textbook and served as the primary source of mathematical knowledge in the Western world until the late 19th or early 20th century.

Beyond Elements, little else is known about Euclid's life or other potential works. The influence of his teachings and methodology, however, has transcended time and space, shaping the way mathematics is studied and understood across cultures and generations. Euclid's legacy as a foundational figure in the history of mathematics is a testament to the enduring power of his ideas and the impact they have had on the intellectual development of humanity.

 

Elements of Geometry

Euclid also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His Stoicheia (Elements) is a 13-volume exploration all corners of mathematics, based on the works of, inter alia, Aristotle, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Plato, Pythagoras. It is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, presenting the mathematical theorems and problems with great clarity, and showing their solutions concisely and logically. Thus, it came to serve as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century. In the Elements, Euclid deduced the principles of what is now called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory and rigor. He is sometimes credited with one original theory, a method of exhaustion through which the area of a circle and volume of a sphere can be calculated, but he left a much greater mark as a teacher.