René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist whose work was foundational to mathematics and modern philosophy. He connected the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra into analytic geometry and introduced a systematic method of inquiry that became influential in early modern philosophy. He made major contributions to epistemology and philosophy of mind as well as metaphysics, and influenced the development of modern science.
Biography from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Also born on March 31
- Al Gore1948 · Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001
- Ewan McGregor1971 · Scottish actor
- Christopher Walken1943 · American actor
- Angus Young1955 · Australian musician; lead guitarist of AC/DC
- Henry II of France1519 · King of France from 1547 to 1559
- Joseph Haydn1732 · Austrian composer
- Richard Chamberlain1934 · American actor and singer
- Shirley Jones1934 · American actress and singer
Also born in 1596
- Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia1596 · Electress Palatine from 1613 to 1623
- Frederick V of the Palatinate1596 · Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia
- Emperor Go-Mizunoo1596 · Emperor of Japan from 1611 to 1629
- Pietro da Cortona1596 · Italian Baroque painter, architect
- Jan van Goyen1596 · Dutch landscape painter
- Johan Banér1596 · Swedish field marshal
- Petro Mohyla1596 · Eastern Orthodox Saint, Metropolitan and reformer
- Constantijn Huygens1596 · Dutch poet and composer