Blaise Pascal was born on June 19,1623 in Clermont Ferrand, France. He has been credited in the field of mathematics for his imaginative and subtle work in geometry and other mathematical branches. His work influenced later generations of theologians and philosophers, helping to make mathematics what it is today. Blaise Pascal is considered part of the foundation of the very heart of math. At age twelve, Blaise mastered Euclids Elements, a three-volume work that states the principles of geometry for the first tine in formal style. In 1645, he invented and sold the first adding machine. His study of hydrostatics, a branch of physics that deals with fluids at rest and under pressure, led to the basic theorems of projective geometry. These theorems, which he formulated at age sixteen, became known as Pascals theorem. He proved that the level of mercury column in a barometer is determined by the increase or decrease in the surrounding atmospheric pressure rather than by a vacuum. This discovery verified the hypothesis of the Italian physicist Evangelista Torricelli, concerning the effect of atmospheric pressure on the equilibrium of liquids. After he published Essay Pour les Coniques (Essay on Conic or Elliptical Sections), Pascal temporarily abandoned the study of mathematics due to very poor health. He moved to Paris where he lived frivolously for several years. His interest in probability theory of the odds in gambling games led him to discover the Theory of Probability in conjunction with Pierre de Fermat. This theory dealt with the actuarial, mathematical, social statistics, and calculations used in todays modern theoretical physics. At the end of 1654, after several months of severe depression, Pascal had a life-altering experience. He entered the Jansenist monastery in Port Royal where he once again began to publish mathematical studies. In 1658, he broke with the Jansenists and left the monastery. Pascal died on Augus...
