Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, astronomer and engineer. Although little is known of his life, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics and the explanation of the principle of the lever. His early use of calculus included the first known summation of an infinite series with a method that is still used today. He is also credited with designing innovative machines, including weapons and the screw pump that bears his name. He is best known for allegedly exclaiming "Eureka!" after discovering what is known today as Archimedes' principle. Archimedes died during the Siege of Syracuse, when he was killed by a Roman soldier despite orders that he should not be harmed. The relatively few copies of his treatises that survived through the Middle Ages were an influential source of ideas for scientists during the Renaissance. The historians of Ancient Rome showed a strong interest in Archimedes and wrote accounts of his life and works, while the discovery of previously unknown works by Archimedes in the Archimedes Palimpsest has provided new insights into how he obtained mathematical results. Carl Friedrich Gauss is said to have remarked that Archimedes was one of the three epoch-making mathematicians, with the others being Sir Isaac Newton and Ferdinand Eisenstein.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
904: Sergius III came out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sergius_III)
1850: U.S. Senator Henry Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850, a series of laws designed to balance the interests between the slaveholding Southern United States and the free states of the north. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850)
1856: The Victoria Cross was created, originally to recognise acts of valour by British and Commonwealth military personnel during the Crimean War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross)
1886: German engine designer and engineer Karl Benz filed a patent for the Motorwagen (replica pictured), the first purpose-built, gasoline-driven automobile. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Benz)
2002: In his State of the Union Address, U.S. President George W. Bush described governments that he accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction as an "axis of evil", specifically naming Iran, Iraq and North Korea. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/axis_of_evil)
_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:
jeremiad: A long speech or prose work that bitterly laments the state of society and its morals, and often contains a prophecy of its coming downfall. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jeremiad)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
The fear of freedom is strong in us. We call it chaos or anarchy, and the words are threatening. We live in a true chaos of contradicting authorities, an age of conformism without community, of proximity without communication. We could only fear chaos if we imagined that it was unknown to us, but in fact we know it very well. -- Germaine Greer