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Euclid

Euclid (/ˈjuːklɪd/; Greek: Εὐκλείδης Eukleides; fl. 300 BC), sometimes called Euclid of
Alexandria[1] to distinguish him from Euclid of Megara, was a Greek mathematician, often
referred to as the "founder of geometry"[1] or the "father of geometry". He was active in
Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His Elements is one of the most
influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching
mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or
early 20th century.[2][3][4] In the Elements, Euclid deduced the theorems of what is now
called Euclidean geometry from a small set of axioms. Euclid also wrote works on
perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, and mathematical rigour.
 Euclid

Detail from Raphael's The School of Athens presumed to represent Donato Bramante as Euclid

Born Mid-4th century BC

Died Mid-3rd century BC

Known for Euclidean geometry

Euclid's Elements

Euclidean algorithm

Scientific career

Fields Mathematics
 Influences Pythagoras

Influenced Virtually all of subsequent Western and Middle

Eastern mathematics

Etymology

The English name Euclid is the anglicized version of the Greek name Εὐκλείδης, which means
"renowned, glorious".[5]

Biography

Very few original references to Euclid survive, so little is known about his life. He was
likely born around 325 BC, although the place and circumstances of both his birth and
death are unknown and may only be estimated relative to other people mentioned with him.
He is mentioned by name, though rarely, by other Greek mathematicians from Archimedes (c.
287 BC – c. 212 BC) onward, and is usually referred to as "ὁ στοιχειώτης" ("the author of
Elements").[6] The few historical references to Euclid were written by Proclus c. 450 AD,
eight centuries after Euclid lived.[7]

A detailed biography of Euclid is given by Arabian authors, mentioning, for example, a birth
town of Tyre. This biography is generally believed to be fictitious.[8] If he came from
Alexandria, he would have known the Serapeum of Alexandria, and the Library of
Alexandria, and may have worked there during his time. Euclid's arrival in Alexandria came
about ten years after its founding by Alexander the Great, which means he arrived c. 322
BC.[9]

Proclus introduces Euclid only briefly in his Commentary on the Elements. According to
Proclus, Euclid supposedly belonged to Plato's "persuasion" and brought together the
Elements, drawing on prior work of Eudoxus of Cnidus and of several pupils of Plato
(particularly Theaetetus and Philip of Opus.) Proclus believes that Euclid is not much
younger than these, and that he must have lived during the time of Ptolemy I (c. 367 BC –
282 BC) because he was mentioned by Archimedes. Although the apparent citation of Euclid
by Archimedes has been judged to be an interpolation by later editors of his works, it is
still believed that Euclid wrote his works before Archimedes wrote his.[10] Proclus later
retells a story that, when Ptolemy I asked if there was a shorter path to learning
geometry than Euclid's Elements, "Euclid replied there is no royal road to geometry."[11] This
anecdote is questionable since it is similar to a story told about Menaechmus and Alexander
the Great.[12]

Euclidis quae supersunt omnia (1704)

Euclid died c. 270 BC, presumably in Alexandria.[9] In the only other key reference to Euclid,
Pappus of Alexandria (c. 320 AD) briefly mentioned that Apollonius "spent a very long time
with the pupils of Euclid at Alexandria, and it was thus that he acquired such a scientific
habit of thought" c. 247–222 BC.[13][14]
Because the lack of biographical information is unusual for the period (extensive
biographies being available for most significant Greek mathematicians several centuries
before and after Euclid), some researchers have proposed that Euclid was not a historical
personage, and that his works were written by a team of mathematicians who took the
name Euclid from Euclid of Megara (à la Bourbaki). However, this hypothesis is not well
accepted by scholars and there is little evidence in its favor.[15]

Elements

One of the oldest surviving fragments of Euclid's Elements, found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to circa AD 100 (P.
Oxy. 29). The diagram accompanies Book II, Proposition 5.[16]

Although many of the results in Elements originated with earlier mathematicians, one of
Euclid's accomplishments was to present them in a single, logically coherent framework,
making it easy to use and easy to reference, including a system of rigorous mathematical
proofs that remains the basis of mathematics 23 centuries later.[17]

There is no mention of Euclid in the earliest remaining copies of the Elements. Most of the
copies say they are "from the edition of Theon" or the "lectures of Theon",[18] while the
text considered to be primary, held by the Vatican, mentions no author. Proclus provides
the only reference ascribing the Elements to Euclid.
Although best known for its geometric results, the Elements also includes number theory.
It considers the connection between perfect numbers and Mersenne primes (known as the
Euclid–Euler theorem), the infinitude of prime numbers, Euclid's lemma on factorization
(which leads to the fundamental theorem of arithmetic on uniqueness of prime
factorizations), and the Euclidean algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor of
two numbers.

The geometrical system described in the Elements was long known simply as geometry, and
was considered to be the only geometry possible. Today, however, that system is often
referred to as Euclidean geometry to distinguish it from other so-called non-Euclidean
geometries discovered in the 19th century. There have been many editions, translations, and
adaptations of The Elements, including a pictorial version by Oliver Byrne and a modern
axiomatization by David Hilbert.

Fragments

The Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 29 (P. Oxy. 29) is a fragment of the second book of the Elements of
Euclid, unearthed by Grenfell and Hunt 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. More recent scholarship
suggests a date of 75–125 AD.[19]

The fragment contains the statement of the 5th proposition of Book 2, which in the
translation of T. L. Heath reads:[20]

If a straight line be cut into equal and unequal segments, the rectangle
contained by the unequal segments of the whole together with the
square on the straight line between the points of section is equal to the
square on the half.

Other works
Euclid's construction of a regular dodecahedron.

Construction of a dodecahedron by placing faces on the edges of a cube.

In addition to the Elements, at least five works of Euclid have survived to the present day.
They follow the same logical structure as Elements, with definitions and proved
propositions.
 Data deals with the nature and implications of "given" information in geometrical
problems; the subject matter is closely related to the first four books of the Elements.

On Divisions of Figures, which survives only partially in Arabic translation, concerns the
division of geometrical figures into two or more equal parts or into parts in given ratios.
It is similar to a first-century AD work by Heron of Alexandria.

Catoptrics, which concerns the mathematical theory of mirrors, particularly the images
formed in plane and spherical concave mirrors. The attribution is held to be
anachronistic however by J J O'Connor and E F Robertson who name Theon of Alexandria
as a more likely author.[21]

Phaenomena, a treatise on spherical astronomy, survives in Greek; it is quite similar to On

the Moving Sphere by Autolycus of Pitane, who flourished around 310 BC.

19th-century statue of Euclid by Joseph Durham in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Optics is the earliest surviving Greek treatise on perspective. In its definitions Euclid
follows the Platonic tradition that vision is caused by discrete rays which emanate from
the eye. One important definition is the fourth: "Things seen under a greater angle appear
greater, and those under a lesser angle less, while those under equal angles appear
 equal." In the 36 propositions that follow, Euclid relates the apparent size of an object
to its distance from the eye and investigates the apparent shapes of cylinders and cones
when viewed from different angles. Proposition 45 is interesting, proving that for any
two unequal magnitudes, there is a point from which the two appear equal. Pappus
believed these results to be important in astronomy and included Euclid's Optics, along
with his Phaenomena, in the Little Astronomy, a compendium of smaller works to be
studied before the Syntaxis (Almagest) of Claudius Ptolemy.

Lost works

Other works are credibly attributed to Euclid, but have been lost.

Conics was a work on conic sections that was later extended by Apollonius of Perga into
his famous work on the subject. It is likely that the first four books of Apollonius's
work come directly from Euclid. According to Pappus, "Apollonius, having completed
Euclid's four books of conics and added four others, handed down eight volumes of
conics." The Conics of Apollonius quickly supplanted the former work, and by the time of
Pappus, Euclid's work was already lost.

Porisms might have been an outgrowth of Euclid's work with conic sections, but the exact
meaning of the title is controversial.

Pseudaria, or Book of Fallacies, was an elementary text about errors in reasoning.

Surface Loci concerned either loci (sets of points) on surfaces or loci which were
themselves surfaces; under the latter interpretation, it has been hypothesized that the
work might have dealt with quadric surfaces.

Several works on mechanics are attributed to Euclid by Arabic sources. On the Heavy and
the Light contains, in nine definitions and five propositions, Aristotelian notions of moving
bodies and the concept of specific gravity. On the Balance treats the theory of the lever
in a similarly Euclidean manner, containing one definition, two axioms, and four
propositions. A third fragment, on the circles described by the ends of a moving lever,
contains four propositions. These three works complement each other in such a way that
it has been suggested that they are remnants of a single treatise on mechanics written
by Euclid.
 Legacy

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid spacecraft was named in his honor.[22] The lunar
crater Euclides and the minor planet 4354 Euclides are named after him.[23]

See also

Axiomatic method

Euclid's orchard

Euclidean relation

Extended Euclidean algorithm

List of things named after Euclid

Oliver Byrne (mathematician)

References

1. Bruno, Leonard C. (2003) [1999]. Math and Mathematicians: The History of Math Discoveries Around
the World (https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun/page/125) . Baker, Lawrence W.
Detroit, Mich.: U X L. pp. 125 (https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun/page/125) .
ISBN 978-0-7876-3813-9. OCLC 41497065 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41497065) .

2. Ball, pp. 50–62.

3. Boyer, pp. 100–19.

4. Macardle, et al. (2008). Scientists: Extraordinary People Who Altered the Course of History. New
York: Metro Books. g. 12.

5. Harper, Douglas. "Euclidean (adj.)" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Euclidean) .

Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 18 March 2015.

6. Heath (1981), p. 357

7. Joyce, David. Euclid. Clark University Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. [1] (http://
aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/Euclid.html)
 8. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Euclid of Alexandria"; Heath 1956, p. 4; Heath 1981, p. 355.

9. Bruno, Leonard C. (2003) [1999]. Math and mathematicians : the history of math discoveries
around the world (https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun/page/126) . Baker,
Lawrence W. Detroit, Mich.: U X L. p. 126 (https://archive.org/details/mathmathematicia00brun/pag
e/126) . ISBN 978-0-7876-3813-9. OCLC 41497065 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41497065) .

10. Proclus, p. XXX (https://books.google.com/books?id=JZEHj2fEmqAC&pg=PA88&vq=euclid&dq=proclu

s+commentary+elements&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0#PPR30,M1) ; O'Connor, John J.; Robertson,
Edmund F., "Euclid of Alexandria"

11. Proclus, p. 57 (https://books.google.com/books?id=JZEHj2fEmqAC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q&

f=false)

12. Boyer, p. 96.

13. Heath (1956), p. 2.

14. "Conic Sections in Ancient Greece" (http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~cherlin/History/Papers1999/schm

arge.html) .

15. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Euclid of Alexandria"; Jean Itard (1962). Les livres
arithmétiques d'Euclide.

16. Bill Casselman. "One of the Oldest Extant Diagrams from Euclid" (http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/Eu
clid/papyrus/papyrus.html) . University of British Columbia. Retrieved 26 September 2008.

17. Struik p. 51 ("their logical structure has influenced scientific thinking perhaps more than any
other text in the world").

18. Heath (1981), p. 360.

19. Fowler, David (1999). The Mathematics of Plato's Academy (https://books.google.com/books?id=Huw

wIdk-xL8C) (Second ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-850258-6.

20. Bill Casselman, One of the oldest extant diagrams from Euclid (http://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/Eucli
d/papyrus/papyrus.html)

21. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Theon of Alexandria"

22. "NASA Delivers Detectors for ESA's Euclid Spacecraft" (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?f

eature=6840) . NASA. 2017.

23. "4354 Euclides (2142 P-L)" (https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id

=4354) . Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
Works cited
Artmann, Benno (1999). Euclid: The Creation of Mathematics. New York: Springer. ISBN 0-387-98423-
2.

Ball, W.W. Rouse (1960) [1908]. A Short Account of the History of Mathematics (https://archive.org/de
tails/shortaccountofhi0000ball/page/50) (4th ed.). Dover Publications. pp. 50–62 (https://archive.o
rg/details/shortaccountofhi0000ball/page/50) . ISBN 978-0-486-20630-1.

Boyer, Carl B. (1991). A History of Mathematics (https://archive.org/details/historyofmathema00boy

e) (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0-471-54397-8.

Douglass, Charlene (2007). Page, John D. (ed.). "Euclid" (http://www.mathopenref.com/euclid.html) .

Math Open Reference. With extensive bibliography.

Heath, Thomas, ed. (1956) [1908]. The Thirteen Books of Euclid's Elements (https://archive.org/details/t
hirteenbooksofe00eucl) . Vol. 1. Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-60088-8.

Heath, Thomas L. (1908). "Euclid and the Traditions About Him" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100127
080511/http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/) . In Heath, Thomas L. (ed.). Euclid, Elements. Vol. 1. pp. 1–6.
Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.As reproduced in the .

Heath, Thomas L. (1981). A History of Greek Mathematics, 2 Vols. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-
486-24073-8, 0-486-24074-6.

Kline, Morris (1980). Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-
502754-X.

O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Euclid of Alexandria" (https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.u

k/Biographies/Euclid.html) , MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews

O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Theon of Alexandria" (https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.u

k/Biographies/Euclid.html) , MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews

Proclus, A commentary on the First Book of Euclid's Elements, translated by Glenn Raymond
Morrow, Princeton University Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0-691-02090-7.

Struik, Dirk J. (1967). A Concise History of Mathematics (https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0

000stru_m6j1) . Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-60255-4.

Van der Waerden, Bartel Leendert; Taisbak, Christian Marinus (30 October 2014). "Euclid" (http://ww
w.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194880/Euclid) . Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 November
2014.
 Further reading

DeLacy, Estelle Allen (1963). Euclid and Geometry. New York: Franklin Watts.

Knorr, Wilbur Richard (1975). The Evolution of the Euclidean Elements: A Study of the
Theory of Incommensurable Magnitudes and Its Significance for Early Greek Geometry.
Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel. ISBN 978-90-277-0509-9.

Mueller, Ian (1981). Philosophy of Mathematics and Deductive Structure in Euclid's

Elements. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-13163-6.

Reid, Constance (1963). A Long Way from Euclid. New York: Crowell.

Szabó, Árpád (1978). The Beginnings of Greek Mathematics. A.M. Ungar, trans. Dordrecht,
Holland: D. Reidel. ISBN 978-90-277-0819-9.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Euclid

Wikisource has original works written by or about:

Euclid

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Euclid.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Euclid".

Works by Euclid (https://www.gutenberg.org/author/Euclid) at Project Gutenberg

Works by or about Euclid (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%2

2Euclid%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Euclid%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Euclid%2
2%20OR%20title%3A%22Euclid%22%29%20OR%20%28%22325-270%22%20AND%20Eucli
d%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at Internet Archive

Works by Euclid (https://librivox.org/author/2304) at LibriVox (public domain

audiobooks)
Euclid's Elements (https://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/elements.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20201231080048/https://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyc
e/java/elements/elements.html) 31 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine, All thirteen
books, with interactive diagrams using Java. Clark University

Euclid's Elements (https://farside.ph.utexas.edu/books/Euclid/Euclid.html) , with the

original Greek and an English translation on facing pages (includes PDF version for
printing). University of Texas.

Euclid's Elements, books I–VI (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/21076/21076-pdf) , in

English pdf, in a Project Gutenberg Victorian textbook edition with diagrams.

Euclid's Elements (https://euclides.org) , All thirteen books, in several languages as

Spanish, Catalan, English, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian, Russian and Chinese.

Elementa Geometriae (https://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/eucgeo/index.html) 1482,

Venice. From Rare Book Room.

Elementa (https://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/eucmsd/index.html) 888 AD, Byzantine.

From Rare Book Room.

Texts on Ancient Mathematics and Mathematical Astronomy (https://www.wilbourhall.or

g) PDF scans (Note: many are very large files). Includes editions and translations of
Euclid's Elements, Data, and Optica, Proclus's Commentary on Euclid, and other historical
sources.

"The elements of geometrie of the most auncient Philosopher Euclide of Megara" (https://h
dl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/english.20856.1) (1570) from the English Printing Collection (https://w
ww.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/coll/eng.html) in the Rare Book and Special Collection Division
at the Library of Congress.
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