Pascal, Blaise
Pascal, Blaise, 1623-62, French scientist and religious philosopher. Studying under the path of his father, a civil servant, Pascal showed great intelligencies, especially in mathematics and science. Before he was 16 he wrote a paper on conic sections, which won the respect of the mathematicians of Paris; at 19 he invented a calculating machine. Credited with founding the modern theory of probability, Pascal also discovered the properties of the cycloid and contributed to the advance of differential calculus. In physics his experiments increased knowledge of atmospheric pressure through barometric measurements and of the equilibrium of fluids. As a young man, Pascal came under the influence of Jansenism, and in 1651 his sister Jacqueline, who had also embraced Jansenist beliefs, entered the convent at Port-Royal, the center of the movement. As a result of the death of his father and of his own narrow escape from death, Pascal in
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