Born in Syracuse, Sicily, he ranks with Newton and Gauss as one of the three
greatest mathematicians who ever lived. Without knowledge of algebra (which came much later)
and without even a convenient number system (our decimal number system also comes later)
he invented a general method for finding areas and volumes. For example, he proved that the
volume of a sphere was two-thirds the volume of the smallest cylinder which contained it.
(The sphere and cylinder are engraved on his tombstone.) He gave a procedure for approximating
π (showing that it was between 22/7 and 223/71), for finding
square roots and for representing large numbers. (Remember that the decimal number system was
not available to him.)In addition to mathematics, he discovered "Archimedes Principle" (which states that a floating object displaces its weight of liquid) and the laws of the lever (which he put to great use in inventing weapons - super catapults - used against the Romans). The force that one can achieve with the aid of a lever led him to say, "Give me a lever and a place to stand and I can move the earth."