Omar Khayyám, born in Persia in 1048 AD, was polymath, a man whose genius ranged from astronomy to philosophy to poetry. Recognized as one of the greatest medieval mathematicians, Khayyám authored the Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra. n In it, he provides a geometric method for solving cubic equations. n Khayyám's contributions to algebra eventually founds it way to Europe, as did the work of many other influential Persian mathematicians. n In astronomy, Khayyám measured a solar year and concluded that it was 365.2421 days. The Iranian calendar today is based on Khayyám's calculations. Yet despite his scientific achievements, Omar Khayyám is most famous for his poetry, in particular his book of poems The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The Rubáiyát consists of about one thousand quatrains, a quatrain being a poem consisting of four lines or rubaais.
© Bruce Stirling 2011
