Euclid died around 285 BCE in Alexandria. An ancient Greek mathematician who is thought to have worked in Alexandria under the early Ptolemies, Euclid is called the father of geometry for his book the Elements. In its thirteen books he presented geometry and number theory as a logical system, deriving theorems step by step from a small set of definitions and axioms. The Elements remained the standard introduction to mathematics for more than two thousand years, and Euclidean geometry takes its name from it. He also wrote on optics, astronomy and other subjects. Almost nothing is known about his life, and the date of his birth and death are uncertain.
Before and after
- from 300 BCE to 1279Chola dynasty
- from 300 BCE to 250 CEYayoi period
- from 299 BCE to 580 CEKingdom of Iberia
- 287 BCEBirth of Archimedes
- c. 285 BCEDeath of Euclid
- 284 BCEColossus of Rhodes
- 283 BCEDeath of Chanakya
- from 282 BCE to 133 BCEAttalid dynasty
- from 281 BCE to 62 CEKingdom of Pontus
More in Science & technology
- 4th century BCEElements
- 3rd century BCEArchimedes' principle
- c. 241 BCEEratosthenes measures the size of the Earth
- 141 BCEPaper
- 105 CECai Lun reports the invention of paper
- c. 150sPtolemy writes the Almagest
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 3rd century BCE.