Girolamo Cardano – Italy, 1501-1576
Cardano was born in Pavia, Italy, the son of a lawyer who was friends with Leonardo da Vinci. He started as a physician and became famous for diagnosing typhoid fever. His work with mathematics was limited, and due to his unpopular reputation, he was often accused of stealing his ideas. He wrote a book about the algebraic solutions to various cubic and quartic equations (one with x to the powers of 3 and 4). Notoriously short on money, Cardano would gamble often. He published a book about probability, which included a section of effective cheating methods! He also invented the first combination lock.
Question of the Week: What did Cardano discover concerning deaf children, which changed the way that they were educated?