Ptolemy biography contributions to math

Ptolemy can be described as a polymath because his studies ranged across an astonishing array of disciplines, from astronomy and geography, to mathematics, philosophy, literature and poetry.

Ptolemy’s Early Years

The best indications place Ptolemy’s birth at about 90 A.D.

in Alexandria, Egypt. He was known to be of Greco-Roman origin and a citizen of Rome, which ruled Egypt at the time. His first name, Claudius, is a marker of his Roman connection.

Ptolemy biography contributions to math and science

He was either born into or granted Roman citizenship during the reign of the patrician family of Claudius. The Emperors Claudius and Nero ruled during the life of Ptolemy.

Ptolemy’s Works

Ptolemy is most famous for his ground-breaking work The Almagest, which is a treatise on mathematics and astronomy.

It described the structure of the heavens as it was unders