1-157-364 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Pierre de Fermat, 17th century French mathematician, [1762] . Fermat's (1601-1665) contributions to mathematics include the founding of analytic geometry, the calculus of probabilities and modern arithmetic. He is probably best remembered for the theorem, known as Fermat's last theorem, which baffled mathematicians for three centuries until finaly proved in 1995. From Histoire des Philosophes Modernes by Alexandre Saverien. (2nd edition, Paris, 1762).