Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was born in 780 CE at a place called Khwarizm which is a part of present day Khiva, Uzbekistan. Like many other thinkers and scientists of his time he also moved to Baghdad which was center of learning of science and philosophy in the middle ages. He studied the sciences and mathematics at House of Wisdom established by Khalifa Ma’mun, which included the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. He worked and lived in Baghdad where died in the year 850 CE.
Al-Khwarizmi developed the concept of the algorithm in mathematics and for this reason he called the grandfather of computer science by some people. The words “algorithm” came from Latin corruptions of his name from al-Khwarizmi to Algorisms. He also made major contributions to the fields of algebra, trigonometry, astronomy, geography and cartography. His systematic and logical approach to solving linear and quadratic equations gave shape to the discipline of algebra, a word that is derived from the name of his book on this subject; Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala ( Calculation by Completion and Balancing). It will be interesting to see what al-Khwarizmi wanted to say about the purpose of his book in his own word. He says: what is easiest and most useful in arithmetic, such as men constantly require in cases of inheritance, legacies, partition, lawsuits, and trade, and in all their dealings with one another, or where the measuring of lands, the digging of canals, geometrical computations, and other objects of various sorts and kinds are concerned.
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