Archimedes (287 – 212 B.C.)

Archimedes was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, scientist and engineer. He invented the catapult and devised a system of pulleys and levers to handle heavy loads. The king of his native city Syracuse, Hiero II asked him to determine if his gold crown was alloyed with some cheaper metal such as silver without damaging the crown. The partial loss of weight he experienced while lying in his bathtub suggested a solution to him. According to legend, he ran naked through the streets of Syracuse exclaiming “Eureka, eureka!”, which means “I have found it, I have found it!”