Archimedes

Archimedes (Greek: Ἀρχιμήδης; c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer from Syracuse, Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Generally considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time, Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola.

Other discoveries and inventions include an accurate approximation of pi, the "Archimedes spiral", and creating an exponential system for expressing very large numbers. He also made accomplishments in hydrostatics and statics, and the theory of the lever. He is credited with designing innovative machines, such as his screw pump, compound pulleys, and defensive war machines to protect his native Syracuse from invasion.

Archimedes died during the Siege of Syracuse when he was killed by a Roman soldier despite orders that he should not be harmed. According to one account, the soldier ordered Archimedes to appear before the General, and struck from rage when Archimedes lingered in his study to solve a geometry proof.

Archimedes in The Valley-Westside War
Liz Mendoza found her father's analysis of The Valley-Westside War to be as scientific and invariable as a geometry proof. She reflected that no geometry proof had ever gotten anyone killed, until she remembered how Archimedes died.