1646-1716

German philosopher and mathematician famous for formulating differential and integral calculus (1684). Though Newton discovered the calculus around 1665, there is little doubt Leibniz arrived at his results independently. His notation is still preferred to Newton's. Leibniz established symbolic logic, probability theory, and combinatorial analysis; and he produced a practical calculating machine that could add, subtract, multiple, divide, and extract roots (1672). He also developed the concept of kinetic energy and the principle of conservation of momentum.