Mathematician:Autolycus of Pitane

Mathematician

Greek astronomer, mathematician and geographer.

It is suggested, and disputed, that Autolycus was an influence on Euclid or whether it was the other way about.

It is also suggested that he was influenced by (and perhaps even a follower of) Eudoxus of Cnidus, but it is impossible to confirm one way or the other.

Nationality

Greek

History

• Born: about 360 BCE in Pitane, Aeolis, Asia Minor (now Turkey)
• Died: about 290 BCE

Publications

• On the Moving Sphere: a mathematical astronomy text
• On Risings and Settings: on observational astronomy

These may be the earliest works on mathematics which have survived.

Also known as

In Greek: Αὐτόλυκος ὁ Πιταναῖος.

Sources

• John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "Autolycus of Pitane": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive