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Ibn al-Haytham

Type Figure Region Iraq Time 965–1040 Also known as Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham、al-Hasan

One of the greatest scientists of the Arab world (965–c. 1040), hailed as the father of modern optics;…

Timeline

  1. 965–1000Basra · IraqReceived an Islamic education and training in mathematics and astronomy in Basra, displaying outstanding talent and beginning to focus on visual and light-and-shadow phenomena.
  2. 1001–1010Baghdad · IraqActive in Iraq's scholarly circles, researching number theory, astronomy, and theories of vision, challenging the then-prevalent 'emission' theory of vision and laying the experimental and mathematical framework for the Book of Optics.
  3. 1011–1040Cairo · EgyptSummoned to Egypt by al-Hakim to plan a project to divert the Nile, he was later placed under house arrest when the project proved infeasible; during his confinement he completed the seven books of the Book of Optics, systematically expounding pinhole imaging, lens refraction, and the physiology of vision, and also conducted astronomical observations.

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