π Blaise Pascal, inventor of a calculator (1623)
Where: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Nearby on the globe: Pont du Gard β π Open the 3D globe
June 19, 1623: Blaise Pascal, inventor of a calculator. French mathematician and scientist Blaise Pascal was born on this day in 1623 in Clermont-Ferrand. At 18, wanting to help his father with tiring tax calculations, he began building the Pascaline, a machine that adds and subtracts with gears. The unit of pressure, the pascal, is named after him.
Where: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Nearby on the globe: Pont du Gard β π Open the 3D globe
Why did Pascal build his calculator?
Answer: To help his father with tax sums
Wandering albatross wings stretch over 3 m, the longest of any bird. The day marks the 2001 signing of the albatross protection agreement (ACAP).
June 19, 1623: Blaise Pascal, inventor of a calculator. It happened in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
In the game, the "Today on Earth" panel shows this story on its day, with a question to answer and a place to fly to.