Archimedes (~287 - 212 BC)
- His father is thought to have been an astronomer, an interest he passed
on to his son.
- Archimedes probably spent some time in Egypt early in his career, and
probably studied Euclid at the Great Library of Alexandria.
- While in Egypt, he invented the Archimedes screw.
Diodorus Siculus (first century BC), wrote in his Bibliotheke,
"Most remarkable of all, they draw off streams of water by the so-called Egyptian screws, which Archimedes of Syracuse invented when he went by ship to
Egypt." Archimedes screws are still being used
today.
- He resided for most of his life in Syracuse, the principal city-state in
Sicily.
- Archimedes was on intimate terms with Syracuse's king,
Hiero II, and
served as his military advisor.
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