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Archimedes
(c 287-212 B.C.)
Greek mathematician and inventor. He was born at Syracuse in Sicily, and
studied at the famous university in Alexandria. Archimedes spent the
remainder of his life at Syracuse, where he engaged in constant
mathematical research. He is noted for his many mechanical inventions,
but his first love was mathematics. His work as a pioneer in mechanics
is illustrated by his famous remark, "Give me a place to stand and I
will move the earth!" During the sack of Syracuse by the army of the
Roman general, Marcellus, Archimedes was discovered drawing a mathematical
figure in the sand beside his garden bench. Deep in meditation upon the
problem before him, Archimedes was instantly killed when he was run
through the body by a sword in the hand of a Roman infantryman. For
details on the life of Archimedes, see Plutarch's Life of Marcellus.
A complete, standard edition of the Works of Archimedes with valuable
notes by T. L. Heath was issued by Cambridge University Press, 1897.
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