Geometry is is a form of math that deals with the size, shape, and position of figures and with the properties of space. Initially a body of practical knowledge concerning lengths, areas, and volumes, in the third century BC geometry was put into an axiomatic form by Euclid. Geometry was used to help in the field of astronomy, especially mapping the positions of the stars and planets on the celestial sphere.
Chat with our AI personalities
Euclid discovered a great many geometrical principles in his book Elements. He was also influential in other areas of mathematics, but he is widely considered the father of geometry.
The branch of mathematics we know as geometry was not "discovered" by any one person. Rather, it was developed by different philosophers and mathematicians across many hundreds of years or even thousands of years. We know geometry was studied by the ancient Greeks, and there is evidence that other ancient cultures had investigators who worked with geometric ideas. It is not difficult to look around in the world and see geometric ideas. They can be found in natural things, like the shapes and arrangements of flower petals, to cite one example. The builders of many structures in the ancient world obviously mastered geometry and the physics (mechanical engineering) of structures. Today we can find no architects that lack an appreciation of geometric ideas; there is a geometry apparent in things we build, both large and small. And the ideas of geometry are an essential part of study for matriculating teenagers because of the wide applications in which geometry plays a part.
It is Pythagoras' theorem that is applicable to any right angle triangle.
The origins of geometry are so unclear that no single individual can be credited with the "discovery" of this branch of mathematics. That said, we can cite the names of a number of early investigators who made major contributions, beginning with Euclid.Certainly it is broadly accepted that Euclid, the Greek mathematician, got the ball rolling with his Elements, which was penned circa 300 BC. This cornerstone volume gathered ideas and provided structure to what was then geometry. But manuscripts and writings dealing with geometry have been discovered, and date further back than Euclid. It could be argued that geometric ideas arose at the time formal writing developed. Use the link below to get an overview of the history of geometry.
It was the French mathematician Rene Descartes who introduced coordinate geometry that includes the slope of a straight line on the Cartesian plane.