Dinostratus

Life and work

Dinostratus' chief contribution to mathematics was his solution to the problem of squaring the circle. To solve this problem, Dinostratus made use of the trisectrix of Hippias, for which he proved a special property (Dinostratus' theorem) that allowed him the squaring of the circle. Due to his work the trisectrix later became known as the quadratrix of Dinostratus as well. Although Dinostratus solved the problem of squaring the circle, he did not do so using ruler and compass alone, and so it was clear to the Greeks that his solution violated the foundational principles of their mathematics. Over 2,200 years later Ferdinand von Lindemann would prove that it is impossible to square a circle using straight edge and compass alone.