History of Geometry

Egyptian Geometry

3000 BCE

Although little of Egyptian geometry survives, we know that Egyptians were using geometric principals as early as 3000 BCE. Egyptian geometry focused on computing the area of shapes and the volumes of solids.

Pythagorean Theorem

510 BCE

Although we don't know the exact date, it's around this time that Pythagoras proved the Pythagorean Theorem. There are records of other civilizations using the Theorem prior to this (such as the Babylonians), but Pythagoras is credited with the first proof.

Euclid's Elements

300 BCE

Euclid's "Elements" was published around 300 BCE, and forms the basis of geometry as we know it today. Here, Euclid first wrote about the five key postulates of geometry, and it's from Euclid that the Euclidean plane gets its name. Although geometry has changed over the years, Euclid's book is still used as a reference text.

Volumes of Irregular Shapes

250 BCE

Archimedes discovers a method of determining the volume of irregular shapes by immersing them in water and seeing how much water is displaced.

Euler and Spherical Geometry

1755

In an effort to disprove Euclid's parallel postulate, Euler built on the writings of earlier mathematicians to form the basis of Spherical Geometry. Although we have records of the beginning of Spherical Geometry as much as 2,000 years ago, Euler was the first to codify the geometry into a singular form.

Nikolay and Hyperbolic Geometry

1829

In another effort to disprove Euclid's parallel postulate, Nikolay Ivanovich Lobachevsky created the foundation for Hyperbolic Geometry, another non-Euclidean Geometry. Hyperbolic Geometry is geometry that is inscribed on a hyperbola, instead of the Euclidean plane.