Contents
Blaise Pascal
Advancing probability, pressure research and early mechanical calculation.
Pascaline · Pressure experiments
- Born
- 19 June 1623
- Birthplace
- Clermont-Ferrand, France
- Died
- 19 August 1662
More people
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, experimental scientist and religious writer. His brief life joined practical inventions with investigations of uncertainty, physical evidence and the limits of human reason.
Early life
Home education
His father Étienne taught him and encouraged his developing mathematical gifts.
Early geometry
Produced important work on conic sections while still a teenager.
Career
- 1640s
Calculation and experiments
Built calculating machines and investigated air pressure.
- 1654
Probability correspondence
Exchanged ideas about gambling problems with Pierre de Fermat.
- 1650s–1660s
Religious writing
Turned increasingly towards Christian apologetics while continuing mathematical work.
Contributions
Pascaline
Mechanical calculator intended to assist arithmetic.
Pressure experiments
Evidence from different elevations supported the role of atmospheric pressure.
Pensées
Posthumous collection of unfinished philosophical and religious notes.
Beyond the lab
Religious commitment
Became closely associated with the Port-Royal community.
Public transport
Helped establish a horse-drawn public coach service in Paris in 1662.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: unknown; a copy of the painting of François II Quesnel, which was made for Gérard Edelinck en 1691 [réf. nécessaire] .. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
