René Descartes

René Descartes (IPA: {{IPA |d?-'kärt}}, March 31, 1596 – February 11, 1650), also known as Cartesius, was a French philosopher, mathematician and part-time mercenary. He is noted equally for his groundbreaking work in philosophy and mathematics. As the inventor of the Cartesian coordinate system, he formulated the basis of modern geometry (analytic geometry), which in turn influenced the development of modern calculus.

References

• {{note|tangent_problem}} {{Book reference|Author=Jan Gullberg|Year=1997|Title=Mathematics From The Birth Of Numbers|Publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|ID=ISBN 0-393-04002-X}}
• {{note|rainbow}} {{Book reference|Author=P A Tipler, G Mosca|Year=2004|Title=Physics For Scientists And Engineers Extended Version|Publisher=W H Freeman and Company|ID=ISBN 0-7167-4389-2}}