Blaise Pascal
1623–1662 · French · Early Modern Period
Known for: Math prodigy, inventor, and the man who bet on God because the odds were too good to pass up
A prodigy who invented a calculator at 19 and made fundamental contributions to probability, hydraulics, and geometry. After a mystical experience (the 'Night of Fire'), he devoted himself to religion.
Physically frail, he died at 39, leaving Pensées unfinished—fragments that remain one of philosophy's most profound works. His 'Pascal's Wager' is the most famous argument in the philosophy of religion.
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