Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and writer. He is regarded as one of the founders of probability theory and conducted important experiments on air pressure. He also constructed one of the earliest mechanical calculating machines, known as the Pascaline. As a Christian philosopher, Pascal was involved in the religious controversies of his time. His best-known works include the »Lettres provinciales« (»Provincial Letters«) and the posthumously published »Pensées« (»Thoughts«), a collection of fragmentary notes on religion, philosophy, and human existence.