History

quick facts:

1. Thales was one of the 'Seven Sages,' seven semi-legendary wise men who lived in the 6th ad 7th centuries and were credited with creating Greek philosophy
2. Thales's Theorem states that the diameter of circle always subtends a right angle to any point on the circle. This is very useful in basic geometry when trying to easily find the center of a circle.
3. Thales believed that the Earth was a flat disc floating on an endless expanse of water, and that water was the primal element from which all things came
4. Thales became famous in his time for predicting the solar eclipse of 585 BC

Thales of Miletus, from Diogenes Laertius' Lives, 1761, France.

A bust of Thales.