Mathematician:Heron of Alexandria

Heron (or Hero) of Alexandria (Greek: Ἥρων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς) was a Greek mathematician and engineer.

Famous for writing about the aeolipile, otherwise known as Hero's Engine (although he didn't actually invent it), and the device known as Heron's fountain.

Also noted for Heron's formula for calculating the area of a triangle whose side lengths are known.

Nationality
Greek

History

 * Born: c. 10 CE, possibly in Alexandria, Egypt
 * Died: c. 70 CE

Theorems

 * Heron's Formula
 * Heronian Triangle
 * Heronian Mean

Books and Papers

 * Pneumatica: on machines working on air.
 * Automata: on machines for performing so-called wonders in temples.
 * Mechanica: on methods of lifting heavy objects.
 * Metrica: calculation of surfaces and volumes of various objects.
 * On the Dioptra: on methods to measure lengths.
 * Belopoeica: on war machines.
 * Catoptrica: on the behvaiour of light.

These works have at times been attributed to Hero, but the current belief is that they were most likely been written by someone else:
 * Geometria: equations based on the first chapter of Metrica.
 * Stereometrica: three dimensional calculations based on the second chapter of Metrica.
 * Mensurae: tools for making measurements based on Stereometrica and Metrica.
 * Cheirobalistra: on catapults.
 * Definitiones: definitions of terms for geometry -- this may have been written by Diophantus.

These works exist only in fragments:
 * Geodesia
 * Geoponica

Also see

 * : Chapter $\text {A}.7$