Over the course of approximately sixty years, René Descartes set a precedent for mathematic excellence in the fields of algebra, geometry, and calculus. His findings lay the foundation for modern math and became a "turning point between medieval and modern mathematics.2" The product of these findings was a mixture of mathematics and science that would later be created by Newton and Leibniz. This new form of mathematics would become known as Calculus.
             René Descartes was born near Tours, France on March 31, 1596. He was born to a family of moderate wealth and was the second in a family of two sons and one daughter. At the age of eight, a young René Descartes found himself attending the Jesuit school of La Fléche in Anjou. There, he realized how little he actually knew, except for one subject-mathematics. It was also there that Descartes developed the habit of staying in bed late due to his delicate health. Upon graduating from school, he began studying law at the University of Poitiers from which he later graduated. But, Descartes never practiced law. In 1618, he enlisted in the service of Prince Maurice of Nassau with the intentions of initiating a military career. During this time, though, Descartes found himself thinking about mathematics, so much so that it is said that his mathematical ideas came to him in his dreams on November 10th, 1619 when stationed on the Danube. This Descartes considered one of the most critical days of his life affecting him so much that he left the service.
             Descartes spent the next five years traveling during which he continued to refine his mathematical concepts. He finally settled in Holland where some of his greatest mathematical theories were created. Over the following years, Descartes would write books pertaining to physics, meteorology, and, within his most famous book, La Géométrie, geometry.
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