Who is Thales? (*b. 625, † d. 547 BC)

Thales was an engineer from Miletus , who was born in the second half of the 7th Century BC, as the son of Phoenicians parents.

He learned all about astronomy, mathematics and navigation from Egyptian priests. His most important and best-known achievement was to discover how to calculate the height of the pyramids, by using the shadow length of a pyramid compared to other objects measured. Likewise, he succeeded about the geometric formulas, and found how to calculate the distance between the ships from the coast. He divided the year into 365 days and discovered the constellation of the Little Bear star and its importance for navigation.

The name “Thales” is the outgrowth of the reflection that Thales, the first traditional man in Europe, who did not only had an outstanding astronomical knowledge but also predicted a solar eclipse correctly(May 28, 585 BC).

Satz des ThalesHe was already the founder of philosophy and science, especially astronomy, years before the time of Plato and Aristotle. He was also the oldest of the so-called “seven wise men“within the ancient landowner politicians, poets and philosophers.

Thales was a prominent mathematician, after whom the geometric rule was named. The Thales Sentence goes as:

All peripheral angles in the semi-circle are 90 degrees (Thales circle).

Other mathematical sets, which have been in use for a long time was found according to the traditions attributed to Thales.

Thales eventually died of old age, heat and thirst in the middle of a lot of people, while he was in the athletics stadium, in a competition that he attended.