Muhammad Bin Musa Al-Khwarizmi

Mathematician, Astronomer, and Geographer, was born in a small town south of the river Oxus in Persia (Kheva, a place located in what is present day Uzbekistan) around 770. His family name indicates that he was from Khwarizm and that one of his ancestors was a Magus, or priest of Zoroaster. Although little is known about Al-Khwarizmi, he was one of the most influential of all Arab mathematicians.

Al-Khwarizmi flourished while working as a member of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under the leadership of Kalif al-Mamun, the son of the Khalif Harun al-Rashid, who was made famous in the Arabian Nights. The House of Wisdom was a scientific research and teaching center.

It was Al-Khwarizmi's most famous book called Hisab al-jabr w'al mugabalah that we derive the name "algebra", the European corruption for the word al-jabr. The title is translated to mean "the science of reunion and reduction." These words refer to the systematic study of the solution of linear and quadratic equations. His book on algebra gave a name to this branch of mathematics.

Al-Khwarizmi's most recognized work, and one that is so named after him, is the mathematical concept Algorithm. The modern meaning of the word relates to a specific routine for solving a particular problem. Today, people use algorithms to do addition and long division, principles that are found in Al-Khawarizmi's text written over 2000 years ago. Al-Khwarizmi was also responsible for introducing the Arabic numbers to the West, setting in motion a process that led to the use of the nine Arabic numerals, together with the zero sign.

Al-Khwarizmi was also a noted astronomer, writing books on astronomy and astronomical tables. In addition, under his leadership, a group of geographers produced the first globe of the known world.