Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician and inventor who lived in the 1600s. He was a child genius who proved math theorems as a teenager. He is famous for Pascal's Triangle and for helping create the field of probability.

A Young Genius

Pascal showed amazing talent from a young age. By the time he was 16, he had already written an important paper about geometry. His father taught him at home, and he quickly passed his father's level.

When he was 19, he built one of the world's first mechanical calculators. It could add and subtract numbers using gears and wheels. He made it to help his father with tax calculations.

Pascal's Triangle and Probability

Pascal studied a triangle of numbers that is now called Pascal's Triangle. Each number is the sum of the two numbers above it. This triangle has many useful patterns.

Pascal also helped invent probability, the math of chance. He figured out how to calculate the odds of winning games. This work is still used today in science, weather forecasting, and games.

Fun Facts

• Pascal built about 50 mechanical calculators, and some still exist in museums today.
• The unit of pressure, called a pascal, is named after him.
• Pascal once said that all of humanity's problems come from not being able to sit quietly in a room.

Did You Know?

Pascal invented an early version of the bus! He started the first public bus service in Paris in 1662, with horse-drawn carriages following set routes.