Alex Montes
Veronica Dominguez
College Algebra 1414
March 25, 2008
Rene Descartes René Descartes was a highly influential French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer. He has been dubbed the "Father of Modern Philosophy" and the "Father of Modern Mathematics."But famous for his saying, "Cogito ergo sum - I think, therefore I am," which is used in Philosphy. His influence in mathematics is also apparent, the Cartesian coordinate system that is used in plane geometry and algebra being named for him, and he was one of the key figures in the Scientific Revolution. As the inventor of the Cartesian coordinate system, Descartes founded analytic geometry, the bridge between algebra and geometry, crucial to the invention of calculus and analysis. One of Descartes most enduring legacies was his development of Cartesian geometry, the algebraic system taught in schools today. He also created exponential notation, indicated by numbers written in what is now referred to as superscript (x²). Descartes was born in La Haye en Touraine, Indre-et-Loire, France. When he was one year old, his mother Jeanne Brochard died of tuberculosis. His father Joachim was a judge in the High Court of Justice. At the age of eleven, he entered the Jesuit College Royal Henry-Le-Grand at La Fleche. After graduation, he studied at the University of Poitiers, earning a Baccalaureat and License in law in 1616, in accordance with his father's wishes that he should become a lawyer. Descartes never actually practiced law, however, and in 1618, during the Thirty Years’ War, he entered the service of Maurice of Nassau, leader of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. His reason for becoming a mercenary was to see the world and to discover the truth. On November 10, 1618, while walking through Breda, Descartes met Isaac Beekman, who sparked his interest in mathematics and the new physics, particularly the problem of the fall of heavy bodies. On November 10, 1619, while traveling in Germany and thinking about using mathematics to solve problems in physics, Descartes had a dream through which he "discovered the foundations of a marvelous science". This became a pivotal point in young Descartes's life and the foundation on which he developed analytic geometry. He dedicated the rest of his life to researching this connection between mathematics and nature. In 1622 to 1649,despite moving around to places as France, Paris, parts of Europe and the Dutch Republic, Descartes sold all of his property and invested in bonds, which provided his income for the rest of his life. In April 1629 he joined the University of Franeker and the next year Leiden University. In October 1630 he had a fall-out with Beeckman, whom he accused of plagiarizing some of his ideas (though the situation was more likely reverse). In Amsterdam, he had a relationship with a servant girl, Helène Jans, with whom he got a daughter Francine who was born in 1635 in Deventer, at which time Descartes taught at the Utrecht University. Francine Descartes died in 1640 in Amersfoort. While in Holland he changed his address frequently. Descartes wrote all his major work during his 20 plus years in Holland, where he managed to revolutionize mathematics and philosophy. Descartes continued to publish works concerning both mathematics and philosophy for the rest of his life. In 1643, Cartesian philosophy was condemned at the University of Utrecht, and Descartes began his long correspondence with Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia. In 1647, he was awarded a pension by the King of France. Descartes was interviewed by Frans Burman at Egmond-Binnen in 1648. René Descartes died on February 11, 1650 in Stockholm, Sweden, where he had been invited as a teacher for Queen Christina of Sweden. The cause of death was said to be pneumonia — accustomed to working in bed until noon, he may have suffered a detrimental effect on his health due to Christina's demands for early morning study (the lack of sleep could have severely compromised his immune system). Later, his remains were taken to France and buried in the church of Sainte-Genevieve-du-Mont in Paris. His memorial erected in the 18th century remains in the Swedish church. During the French Revolution, his remains were disinterred for burial in the Pantheon among the great French thinkers. The village in the Loire Valley where he was born was renamed La Haye - Descartes in 1802, which was shortened to "Descartes" in 1967. Currently his tomb is in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Pres in Paris, except for his brain, which is in the Musee de l’Homme. His theory provided the basis for the calculus of Newton and Leibniz, by applying infinitesimal calculus to the tangent line problem, thus permitting the evolution of that branch of modern mathematics. Descartes’ rule of signs is also a commonly used method in modern mathematics to determine possible quantities of positive and negative zeros of a function.

Works Cited “Rene Descartes.” Online. 1 March 2008.
“Descartes, Rene.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Enciclopedia Britannica Online. 2 March. 2008 .
“Descartes, Rene 1596-1650.” Mathematicians of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 2008. Online. 1 March. 2008