JOHN NAPIER John Napier was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, into the Scottish nobility. Since his father was Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle, and his mother, Janet Bothwell, was the daughter of a member of Parliament, John Napier became the laird (property owner) of Merchiston. Napier's father was only 16 when his son, John, was born. As was the practice for members of nobility, Napier did not enter school until he was 13. He did not stay in school very long, however. It is believed that he dropped out and traveled inEurope to continue his studies. Little is known about these years, where or when he may have studied. In 1571, Napier turned 21 and returned to Scotland. The following year he married Elizabeth Stirling, daughter of Scottish mathematician James Stirling (1692-1770), and bat a castle at Gartnes in 1574. The couple had two children before Elizabeth died in 1579. Napier later married Agnes Chisholm, with whom he had ten children. On the death of his father in 1608, Napier and his family moved into Merchiston Castle, where he lived the rest of his life.Napier's father had been deeply interested and involved in religious matters, and Napier himself was no different. Because of his inherited wealth, he needed no professional position. He kept himself very busy by being involved with the political and religious controversies of his time. For the most part, religion and politics in Scotland at this time pitted Catholics against Protestants. Napier was anti-Catholic, as evidenced by his 1593 book against Catholicism and the papacy (office of the pope) entitled A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John. This attack was so popular that it was translated into several languages and saw many editions. Napier always felt that if he attained any fame at all in his life, it would be because of that book. http://math.about.com/library/weekly/blbionapier.htm EUCLID
Euclid of Alexandria lived in 365 - 300 BC (approximately). Very little is known about Euclid's life except that he taught in Alexandria, Egypt. He may have become educated at Plato's Academy in Athens, or possibly from some of Plato's students. Basically, all of the rules we use in Geometry today are based on the writings of Euclid, specifically 'The Elements'.
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