When it comes to the greatest inventors of all time, children may think of Steve Jobs and adults may think of Nikola Tesla, but historians will think of Hero, also known as Heron, the greatest Greek mathematician of all time.
Nobody knows exactly when he was born, although it was somewhere between 150 BCE and 250 CE in Ptolemaic Egypt or the late Roman Empire, according to legend.
He spent most of his time at the University of Alexandria Library, and it is assumed that he was either a student or a fan of Ctesibius of Alexandria’s writings.
When he became a teacher, he used his own books to instruct the students. He invented the first Philosopher’s Stone, which was supposed to be capable of transforming one liquid into another, such as water into wine.
Among the best manuscripts unearthed at the time, Hero is credited with the Automata, Pneumatica, Dioptra, Catoprica, and Mechanica.
He invented the aeolipile, a rocket-like contraption that propelled itself using steam.
He also invented the wind-powered machine and the water vending machine, both of which were extensively employed in the land’s temples.
