Painting of Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal (19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, writer and Catholic theologian. He was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France. His mother died when he was three years old. His father's name was Étienne. He had two sisters, Jaqueline and Gilberte. Pascal was completely educated by his father.His father was a tax collector. Pascal was considered a child prodigy. Though best known for his works in mathematics, including the creation of Pascal's Triangle, which is named after him, and developments in the field of probability, Pascal was also a scientist. He wrote in support of the scientific method and also contributed to physics. Later he wrote two books about Christianity. Also, the Pascal unit was named after him.