Ibn Al-haytham
Ibn Al-haytham was a pioneering scientist and mathematician known for his contributions to optics and astronomy.
Astronomer
July 1, 0965
March 6, 1040
74
Ibn Al-Haytham, also known as Alhazen, was a renowned Arab polymath from Basra, Iraq, born in 965 and passed away in Cairo, Egypt. He is celebrated for his accomplishments in optics, particularly for his influential Book of Optics, which played a crucial role in shaping modern optics.
Besides his work in optics, Ibn Al-Haytham made substantial contributions to mathematics, physics, and astronomy. He authored the Kitab al-Manazir, a treatise on visual perception, and the Mizan al-Hikmah, a book examining the principles of geometry and arithmetic. While imprisoned for political reasons by the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo, he conducted experiments on vision, light, and optics, which inspired him to write his most renowned book, the Book of Optics.
Ibn Al-Haytham’s works have had a lasting impact on scientific thought and discovery. Often compared to Galileo for his contributions to physics, he is considered a pioneer of modern optics. His ideas on light rays and vision paved the way for the development of photographic cameras.
In recent years, Ibn Al-Haytham has gained increased recognition and popularity. His English Wikipedia biography has garnered over 1,967,171 page views since 2007, making him the 30th most popular physicist and the most popular Iraqi physicist. His contributions to science and his emphasis on proof and evidence continue to inspire scientists and scholars today. As a groundbreaking scientist and mathematician from the 10th-11th century, Ibn Al-Haytham significantly contributed to the fields of optics and astronomy.
