Thales of Miletus
~624–546 BCE · Greek (Miletus) · Archaic Greece
Known for: The first philosopher — predicted an eclipse, fell into a well while stargazing, and said everything is made of water
Thales of Miletus is traditionally considered the first Western philosopher. He proposed that water is the fundamental substance of all reality — wrong in specifics, but revolutionary in method: he sought natural rather than mythological explanations for the world.
He predicted a solar eclipse (585 BCE), proved geometric theorems, and was one of the Seven Sages of Greece.
Browse all 1,000 figures by category
Enable JavaScript to view the full "if they lived today" Q&A and personality profile.