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Pierre de Fermat (/ f ɜːr ˈ m ɑː /; [2] French: [pjɛʁ də fɛʁma]; 17 August 1601 [a] – 12 January 1665) was a French mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality.
He later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social science. In 1642, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines (called Pascal's calculators and later Pascalines), establishing him as one of the first two inventors of the mechanical calculator. [6] [7]
The problem arose again around 1654 when Chevalier de Méré posed it to Blaise Pascal. Pascal discussed the problem in his ongoing correspondence with Pierre de Fermat. Through this discussion, Pascal and Fermat not only provided a convincing, self-consistent solution to this problem, but also developed concepts that are still fundamental to ...
Pierre de Fermat Blaise Pascal Christiaan Huygens [182] (founders) Fermat and Pascal co-founded probability theory, about which Huygens wrote the first book Projective geometry: Girard Desargues [183] (founder) By generalizing the use of vanishing points to include the case when these are infinitely far away Set theory: Georg Cantor: Statistics ...
The mathematical methods of probability arose in the investigations first of Gerolamo Cardano in the 1560s (not published until 100 years later), and then in the correspondence Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal (1654) on such questions as the fair division of the stake in an interrupted game of chance.
Pierre de Fermat (1607–1665) never published his writings; in particular, his work on number theory is contained almost entirely in letters to mathematicians and in private marginal notes. [38] In his notes and letters, he scarcely wrote any proofs—he had no models in the area. [39] Over his lifetime, Fermat made the following contributions ...
Pierre de Fermat also pioneered the development of analytic geometry. Although not published in his lifetime, a manuscript form of Ad locos planos et solidos isagoge (Introduction to Plane and Solid Loci) was circulating in Paris in 1637, just prior to the publication of Descartes' Discourse .
1637 – Pierre de Fermat claims to have proven Fermat's Last Theorem in his copy of Diophantus' Arithmetica. 1637 – First use of the term imaginary number by René Descartes; it was meant to be derogatory. 1643 – René Descartes develops Descartes' theorem. 1654 – Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat create the theory of probability.