Pierre de Fermat:
Pierre de Fermat (pronounced Fair-mah) was born in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, France in August of 1601 and died in 1665. He is considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of the seventeenth century. Fermat's father was a leather merchant and his mother's family was in the legal profession. Fermat attended a Franciscan monastery and then moved on to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in civil law from the University of Orleans in 1631. He married, had five children and practiced law. Math was just a hobby for Fermat. He published almost none of his results and has become a legend for having routinely given “no systematic exposition of his methods.” Some of his more impressive results were found after his death on loose sheets of paper or written in the margins of works.