Claudius Ptomely's Biography

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Claudius Ptolemy (AD 100?-170?) was probably one of the most famous astronomers and mathematicians, even though most of his theories were later proved wrong or incorrect. Yet he laid down the foundation for future astronomers and mathematicians to take. His theories dominated the scientific field until the 16th century. There is question as to where Claudius was born. His name "Claudius" means 'roman citizenship', but Ptolemaeus means 'resident of Egypt', which would make sense since most of his life was spent in Egypt, specifically Alexandria. Ptolemy's most famous work, Almagest, contained geometric theory which mathematically explained the motions and positions of planets, sun, and the moon against stars that did not move. At first he began to accept that the earth was at the center of the universe, but later studying, he began to believe that the earth and planets movied in cirlces around much larger objects. He created the term epicycle, which was used to describe the circular paths that objects in space moved around. He was one of the first to create the horoscopes, applying astronomy to astrology in his book Tetrabiblos. He wrote two other famous books; Geography which charted the world as known at the time, and Optics, which explored the properties of light.