Thales
Thales (c. 624 - c. 545 BC) was an ancient Greek natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. He has been credited as being the founder of natural philosophy (and philosophy in general) as well as geometry.
Background
Thales, according to Herodotus, was, "a man of Miletus, of Phoenician descent[1]". Miletus was an important Greek city state in the region called Ionia, on the west coast of Asia Minor. The Phoenicians were an ancient Levantine seafaring people.
- ↑ Herodotus, The Histories, [Book I]http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.mb.txt