Omar Khayyám (1048 – 1131) was an extremely
talented and famous Persian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and poet.
The full name of Khayyam was Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nishapuri al-Khayyami. Omar Khayyam was born on May 18, 1048 in Nishapur, Iran. His work as an outstanding mathematician and astronomer had led to the reform of the ancient Muslim calendar.
As A Mathematician
He
authored the very famous and influential “Treatise on Demonstration of Problems
of Algebra” (1070), which designed the principles of algebra. In his treatise, he worked on the triangular
array of binomial coefficients called as “Pascal's triangle”. In 1077, he finished writing “Sharh ma ashkala
min musadarat kitab Uqlidis.” This work
got published in English by the title “On the Difficulties of Euclid's
Definitions”.
As An Astronomer
Khayyam
was a popular and eminent astronomer too. The version of Iranian calendar of the
medieval times in which compilation of 2,820 solar years cover 1,029,983 days
was grounded on the measurements of Khayyám and his co-scientists.
As A Poet
The poetic works of Khayyam
has surpassed his popularity as a mathematician and scientist. It is said that
he wrote around a thousand four-line verses or “Rubaiyat” (quatrains).
As A Philosopher
Khayyam never accepted
himself with the title “falsafi” in the sense of Aristotelian one. He was
marked as the one “detached from divine blessings”, by his contemporaries.
Apparently, he was quite influenced by the Epicurus’s philosophy. Also, he taught the philosophy of Avicena for
a large number of years, particularly “the Book of Healing” in his native town
Nishapur until his death.
Source: www.thefamouspeople.com
