culture, there are signs that people used mathematics. They used math to make calendars,

to build pyramids, to divide farmland - and don't forget, you need math just to count

things! There is plenty of evidence that people everywhere USED math, but it's hard to tell

how deep were the theoretical studies of mathematics. The matter is complicated by the fact that

most writings from ancient times have been lost. And knowledge existed long before writing

- wisdom was passed on by speech. The best we can do is find the first person who is

credited with a specific mathematical discovery. That person is an ancient Greek scholar named

Thales.

Thales lived from roughly 625BC to 550BC (around the time that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon).

Thales was born in the ancient Greek city of Miletus, which today is located on the

coast of Turkey. Remember, most of the countries of today did not exist during the time of

Thales, and those that are still around had different borders thousands of years ago.

While none of his writings have ever been found, by all accounts, Thales was brilliant

-- one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Thales was renowned not just as a mathematician,

but as a scholar who studied many fields. In fact, many consider him to be the first

philosopher!

Several math theorems are attributed to Thales, the most famous of which is called Thales's

theorem. It says that if you inscribe an angle in a semicircle, then the angle is a right

angle. Never underestimate the importance of right angles. If you are going to build

a large building with nice corners and upright walls, you'd better know how to make a right

angle.

In a time of myth and superstition, Thales used reasoning to understand the world. He

probably was not the first mathematician who ever lived, but his ideas were powerful enough

that his name and discoveries survived the sands of time.