Gerolamo Cardano or Girolamo Cardano (French Jerome Cardan, Latin Hieronymus Cardanus; September 24, 1501 — September 21, 1576) was an Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler.
He was born in Pavia, Lombardy, the illegitimate child of Fazio Cardano, a mathematically gifted lawyer, who was a friend of Leonardo da Vinci. In his autobiography, Cardano claimed that his mother had attempted to abort him. Shortly before his ...
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Gerolamo Cardano or Girolamo Cardano (French Jerome Cardan, Latin Hieronymus Cardanus; September 24, 1501 — September 21, 1576) was an Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler.
He was born in Pavia, Lombardy, the illegitimate child of Fazio Cardano, a mathematically gifted lawyer, who was a friend of Leonardo da Vinci. In his autobiography, Cardano claimed that his mother had attempted to abort him. Shortly before his birth, his mother had to move from Milan to Pavia to escape the plague; her three other children died from the disease.
In 1520, he entered the University of Pavia and later in Padua studied medicine. His eccentric and confrontational style did not earn him many friends and he had a difficult time finding work after his studies had ended. In 1525, Cardano repeatedly applied to the College of Physicians in Milan, but was not admitted due to his reputation and illegitimate birth.
Eventually, he managed to develop a considerable reputation as a...
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