History of Geometry Timeline

3000 BC 2000 BC 1000 BC 0 AD 1000 2000 3000 4000

Babylonian/Indian/Egyptian/Chinese

Egyptian Pyramids Approx. 2500 BC

Herons Formula. Approx. 2,000 BC

Moscow Papyrus Approx. 1800 BC

Rhind Papyrus Approx. 1650 BC

2's Square Root 800 BC

The Shatapatha Brahmana Approx. 700 BC

Brahmagupta's Formula 628 BC

Pythagorean Triples 600 BC

Pappus Of Alexandria 340 BC

Hipparchus develops the bases of trigonometry. 140 BC

The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art 100 BC

Greece

Thales of Miletus Approx. 624 BC - Approx. 546 BC

Pythagoras Approx. 570 BC - Approx. 495 BC

Zeno's Paradoxes Approx. 455 BC

Greeks use numerals Approx. 450 BC

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 Plato 427 BC - 347 BC
After Achimedes 410 BC

Plato's Polyhedra Approx. 387 BC

Eudoxus Rational and Irrational Comparison Approx. 360 BC

Euclid Approx. 325 BC - Approx. 265 BC

The Elements Approx. 300 BC

Archimedes Approx. 287 BC - Approx. 212 BC

Volume of a cylinder Approx. 250 BC

The Earth's Circumference 235 BC

Medieval Geometry

Area of an Encircled Quadrilateral Approx. 628 AD

Synthesis of Algebra and Geometry Approx. 853 AD

Modern Age Geometry

Renee Descartes 1596 - 1650

Paddhati 1600

Isaac Newton 25 December 1643 - 20 March 1727

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz July 1 1646 - November 14 1716

Calculus 1684

Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777 - 1855

Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra. 1806

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 George Friedrich Bernhard Riemann 1826 AD - 1866 AD
Arthur Cayley 1854 AD

Ferdinand von Lindemann 1882

Three Cottage Problem Disproved 1930 AD

The Fractal Geometry Of Nature 1982 AD

Classification of finite simple groups 1983

Mapping of E8 2007

Babylonian/Indian/Egyptian/Chinese

Egyptian Pyramids First Egyptian pyramids constructed using masterful planning as well as sharp and
Approx. 2500 BC detailed understanding of geometrical shapes and concepts.

Herons Formula. This was the first known instance of someone correctly mapping the area of a
Approx. 2,000 BC triangle with a pre-determined formula in recorded history

Moscow Papyrus The Moscow Mathematical Papyrus was a document discovered containing 25
Approx. 1800 BC new ideas in mathematical and geometrical history.

Rhind Papyrus The Rhind Papyrus was an 18 feet wide document containing 48 new problems
Approx. 1650 BC revolving mostly around dealing with fractions.

2's Square Root Baudhayana, author of the Baudhayana Sulba Sutra, a Vedic Sanskrit geometric
800 BC text, contains quadratic equations, and calculates the square root of 2 correct to
five decimal places

The Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana is a prose text describing Vedic rituals, history and
Approx. 700 BC mythology associated with the Śukla Yajurveda.

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 Brahmagupta's Formula Brahmagupta's formula: The area, A, of a cyclic quadrilateral with sides of lengths
628 BC a, b, c, d, respectively, is given by

Pythagorean Triples the other Vedic “Sulba Sutras” (“rule of chords” in Sanskrit) use Pythagorean
600 BC triples, contain of a number of geometrical proofs, and approximate π at 3.16

Pappus Of Alexandria Pappus of Alexandria states his hexagon theorem and his centroid theorem
340 BC

Hipparchus develops the bases of trigonometry.

140 BC

The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art The Nine Chapters on The Mathematical Art lays out an approach to mathematics
100 BC that centers on finding the most general methods of solving problems

Greece

Thales of Miletus Created and proved Thales Theorem DE/BC=AE/AC=AD/AB

Approx. 624 BC - Approx. 546 BC

Pythagoras Pythagorean theorem is named after him although its not been proven that he
Approx. 570 BC - Approx. 495 BC ever even existed
2=C2
A2+B

Zeno's Paradoxes A set of philosophical problems generally thought to have been devised by Greek
Approx. 455 BC philosopher Zeno of Elea

Greeks use numerals First recorded incident of written numerals in Greece

Approx. 450 BC

Plato a philosopher that is highly esteemed by the Greeks. There is a story that he had
427 BC - 347 BC inscribed above the entrance to his famous school, "Let none ignorant of
geometry enter here." However, the story is considered to be untrue.
He was NOT a mathematician however his views helped shape many concepts

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 After Achimedes After Archimedes died hellenistic geometry started to decline in popularity
410 BC

Plato's Polyhedra Plato founds the Academy in Athens. He identifies five polyhedra now known as
Approx. 387 BC Platonic bodies.

Eudoxus Rational and Irrational Comparison Eudoxus makes a definition allowing the possibility of using irrational lengths and
Approx. 360 BC comparing them with rational lengths by using cross multiplication.

Euclid Euclid is considered to be one of the three greatest mathematicians of all time. He
Approx. 325 BC - Approx. 265 BC discovered Euclidean geometry which use his axioms and theorems as they relate
to plane and solid figures.

The Elements Euclid writes The Elements, a book discussing Euclidean geometry. The Elements
Approx. 300 BC is a collection of 13 books of definitions, postulates, and axioms. It became the 3rd
most popular book in the world, after the Koran and the Bible.

Archimedes Archimedes is regarded as the greatest Greek mathematician. He invented 3

Approx. 287 BC - Approx. 212 BC simple machines, the pulley, screw, and lever. The Archimedes screw, a device
used for raising water, is still in use today. He also analyzed the area of a circle and
discovered how to calculate volumes and surface areas of spheres and cylinders.

Volume of a cylinder Archimedes discovers the formula for how to calculate the volume of a cylinder.
Approx. 250 BC

The Earth's Circumference Eratosthenes estimates the circumference of the Earth, only missing by about 15%.
235 BC

Medieval Geometry

Area of an Encircled Quadrilateral Brahmagupta created a formula for finding the area of a quadrilateral, with sides
Approx. 628 AD a,b,c,d, enclosed by a circle: A = The Sq. Root of (s-a)(s-b)(s-c)(s-d). S is the semi-
perimeter, is found by the formula s=(a+b+c+d)/2

Synthesis of Algebra and Geometry

Approx. 853 AD

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Modern Age Geometry

Renee Descartes Descartes synthesized algebra and geometry by placing points on a coordinate
1596 - 1650 plane.

Paddhati Putumana Somayaji writes the "Paddhati", which presents a detailed discussion of
1600 various trigonometric series

Isaac Newton Widely known as a the man who helped revolutionize the concept of gravity
25 December 1643 - 20 March 1727 Newton made several contributions to mathematics and geometry as well as
science including being credited as one of the fathers of calculus.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Leibniz was a German mathematician who is credited as also being a father of
July 1 1646 - November 14 1716 modern calculus

Calculus Even though there is much controversy surrounding it its widely believed that Sir
1684 Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz both discovered/created calculus in
the mid 17th century

Carl Friedrich Gauss Gauss developed the Gauss method for adding large amounts of consecutive
1777 - 1855 numbers when he was six. However, his most important creation is that of non-
Euclidean geometry. Non-Euclidean geometry is geometry not based on the
postulates of Euclid. This includes times when the parallel postulate isn't true.
Parallel Postulate - Through a given point not on a line, there is one and only one
line parallel to it.

Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra. Louis Poinsot discovers the two remaining Kepler-Poinsot polyhedra.
1806

George Friedrich Bernhard Riemann Riemann was one of the foremost geometers in the development of Non-
1826 AD - 1866 AD Euclidean Geometry. He also was a lecturer at the University of Gottingen

Arthur Cayley 1854 – Arthur Cayley shows that quaternions can be used to represent rotations in
1854 AD four-dimensional space.

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Ferdinand von Lindemann Ferdinand von Lindemann proves that π is transcendental and that therefore the
1882 circle cannot be squared with a compass and straightedge,

Three Cottage Problem Disproved Casimir Kuratowski shows that the three-cottage problem has no solution
1930 AD The problem is as follows:
"Suppose there are three cottages on a plane (or sphere) and each needs to be
connected to the gas, water, and electricity companies. Without using a third
dimension or sending any of the connections through another company or
cottage, is there a way to make all nine connections without any of the lines
crossing each other?"

The Fractal Geometry Of Nature In 1982, Benoit Mandelbrot publishing The Fractal Geometry of Nature, a book
1982 AD popularizing fractal geometry. Fractal geometry deals with fractioned dimensions.

Classification of finite simple groups the classification of finite simple groups, a collaborative work involving some
1983 hundred mathematicians and spanning thirty years, is completed

Mapping of E8 A team of researches throughout North America and Europe used networks of
2007 computers to map E8

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