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Born in Greece around 624BC to Examyes and Cleobuline Thales grew up in Miletus, one of the
wealthiest and most powerful Greek cities. As a young man Thales became a merchant, which
was probably his familys line of business.
In his later years Thales traveled to Egypt, where he learned about astronomy and
mathematics. He may have traveled to Babylon; if he did, it would have been during the reign
of Nebuchadnezzar. After returning from this trip Thales became Ancient Greeces first
scientist. He is credited with being the first man in all of Western civilization to engage in
scientific thought.
Not much is known about the time period in which Thales lived. Getting information about his
life is difficult. I have been unable to find anything to suggest where he received his education
as a child, but it is thought that much of his mathematical and scientific training came from
Egypt or Babylon during his travels.
Upon returning to Greece, Thales set up a school to teach others what he knew and tried to
establish axioms (mathematical proofs). Once these first principles were in place, he reasoned
Contributions to Mathematics
Thales Theorems
Thales Legacy
Thales was the father of Greek
mathematics and began the
process of deriving theorems
from first principles that we
still use today. This was only
part of his legacy, because he
taught many of the
mathematicians that would
follow him and build upon his
theories. One of these was
Pythagoras, a name known to
countless schoolchildren
through his famous theory.
"
References
OConnor, J., Robertson, E. Thales of Miletus. Retrieved from http://www-history.mcs.stand.ac.uk/Biographies/Thales.html
(2012, Jan 22). Thales. Famous Scientists. Retrieved from
http://www.famousscientists.org/thales/
Retrieved from http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/thales-263.php
Thales . (2012). Famous-Mathematicians.com. Retrieved from http://www.famousmathematicians.com/thales/
Shuttleworth, Martyn. Thales and the Deductive Method. Retrieved from
https://explorable.com/thales
(2004). Thales of Miletus. Retrieved from http://www.livius.org/articles/person/thales-of-miletus/