Little is known about the life of Euclid, an important Greek mathematician. He lived at Alexandria, in the time of the first Ptolemy, 323-283 B.C. He was the founder of a school of mathematics there.
Euclid's compilation of the major results of ancient geometry in a comprehensive axiomatic framework remains a classic and easily the most influential scientific work of all time. Beginning with definitions, axioms, and postulates, the Elements deduces hundreds of general theorems about plane and solid geometry, including the famous Pythagorean theorem. It is claimed that, when asked by King Ptolemy if he could make his solutions easier to follow, Euclid said, "There is no royal road to geometry,"
In 1570, Sir Henry Billingsley first translated the Elements into English.
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