Science
Science / Middle Ages
Ibn al-Haytham
965 — 1039海什木
Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer (c.965–c.1040)
Born965
BirthplaceBasra
Fieldsmathematician, physicist, philosopher
The story, in brief.
Ibn al-Haytham, Latinized as Alhazen, was a mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age from Iraq. Referred to as "the father of modern optics", he made significant contributions to the principles of optics and visual perception in particular. His most influential work is titled Kitāb al-Manāẓir, written during 1011–1021, which survived in a Latin edition. The works of Alhazen were frequently cited during the Scientific Revolution by Galileo Galilei, René Descartes, Johannes Kepler, and Christiaan Huygens.
Introduction from Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full biography ↗
A life in milestones.
Selected records from Wikidata. Ages are approximate; “c.” marks uncertain dates. This is a starting point for exploration, not a complete life history.
This edition has life dates for Ibn al-Haytham; more sourced milestones are still to be added.
- 965
- 1039~ age 74
Behind this profile
Sources retrieved 2026-11-01. Dates and milestones: Wikidata contributors, CC0 ↗. Biographical introduction: Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0. Ancient dates and traditional biographies may be disputed; consult the linked records.
Portrait: Adolph Boÿ, engraved by Jeremias Falck. Used as the frontispiece to Johannes Hevelius, Selenographia, 1647 · Public domain · Original and attribution ↗. Display cropped and desaturated.
KEEP EXPLORING / Science
Explore this field ↗Another life, another lens.
Science
Science
Science
