Rene Descartes                 

1596-1650

    Rene Descartes was born on March 31, 1596 in LaHaye (now Descartes) Touraine, Sweden.  Descartes was a philosopher and mathematician.  He studied a specific type of geometry now called Cartesian Geometry.  Descartes started at the Jesuit College of La Fleche in Anjou at age eight.  He studied philosophy there until 1612. 

            Descartes had poor health and would stay in bed until 11:00 each day.  He only succeeded in math, as that was his only interest.  He did spend some time in Paris.  He studied at the University of Poitiers, and then in 1616 he received permission to go to military school in Breda. 

            He started studying mathematics and mechanics in 1618.  he joined the Bavarian Army in 1619, and traveled throughout Eurpoe from 1620-1628.  Descartes eventually settled in Holland and started working on his first treatise of physics.  At this time he found out about Gaileo and was encouraged by his friends to publish his own ideas.  He published a new treatise Discours de la methode pour bien conduire sa raison et chercher la verite dans les sciences in a book called La Geometrie or Geometry Les Meteores is Meterology.  He used strong methods of algebra and thought of gravity and the existence of its force.  Henry More of Cambridge liked Descartes’ work. He died in Stockholm, Sweden on Feb. 11, 1650.