Mathematician:Diophantus of Alexandria

Mathematician
Mathematician living in Alexandria, Egypt, about whom very little is known.

Author of a series of books called, some of which are now lost, concerning the solution of algebraic equations.

Sometimes referred to as "the father of algebra", but some claim the title should belong to.

Nationality
Egyptian, probably a Hellenized Babylonian

History

 * Born: between 200 and 214 CE (location unknown)
 * Died: between 284 and 298 CE

Theorems and Definitions

 * Diophantine Analysis
 * Diophantine Equations
 * Diophantine Problem
 * Diophantine $m$-Tuple


 * Diophantus's Identity (also known as Brahmagupta-Fibonacci Identity)

Publications

 * (13 books, of which 6 have survived (some say 10))


 * On Polygonal Numbers (only fragments now exist)
 * Porisms (may have originally been part of )

Critical View

 * I came to believe that in Arithmetic and Logistic, "I was Somebody". And in fact by not a few, among them some true scholars, I was adjudged an Arithmetician beyond the common order. But when I first came upon the work of Diophantos, his method and his reasoning so overwhelmed me that I scarcely knew whether to think of my former self with pity or with laughter.
 * -- Introduction to his translation of the of
 * -- Introduction to his translation of the of

Also known as
Some sources render his name as Diophantos.

Also see

 * Epitaph of Diophantus