Mathematician:Menelaus of Alexandria

Mathematician

Greek mathematician and astronomer.

Very little is known about him.

Nationality

Greek

History

• Born: c. 70 CE, possibly in Alexandria, Egypt
• Died: c. 130 or 140 CE

Theorems

• Menelaus' Theorem

Results named for Menelaus of Alexandria can be found here.

Publications

• c. 110: Sphaerica, which survives in an Arabic translation

Several other works of his are known about, but unfortunately appear not to have survived:

• On the Calculation of the Chords in a Circle
• On the Knowledge of the Weights and Distribution of Different Bodies
• The Book on the Triangle
• Elements of Geometry (translated into Arabic by Thabit ibn Qurra)

Sources

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

• 1989: Ephraim J. Borowski and Jonathan M. Borwein: Dictionary of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: Menelaus' theorem
• 1991: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Geometry ... (previous) ... (next): A Chronological List Of Mathematicians
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: Menelaus of Alexandria (fl. ad 100)
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: Menelaus of Alexandria (fl. ad 100)
• 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $5$: Eternal Triangles: Astronomy
• 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: Menelaus of Alexandria (about ad 100)