The circle has been known since before the beginning of recorded history. It is the basis for the wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern civilization possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of geometry and calculus.
Early science, particularly geometry and Astrology and astronomy, was connected to the divine for most medieval scholars, and many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine" or "perfect" that could be found in circles.
Some highlights in the history of the circle are:
* 1700 BC – The Rhind papyrus gives a method to find the area of a circular field. The result corresponds to 256/81 as an approximate value of π.[1]
* 300 BC – Book 3 of Euclid's Elements deals with the properties of circles.
* 1880 – Lindemann proves that π (pi)is transcendental, effectively settling the millennia-old problem of squaring the circle.
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