jan 1, 460 BC - Democritus

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When did they live?
Relatively little is known about the life and death of Democritus. According to most reports, Democritus was born circa 460 BCE and died some 90 years later, about 370 BCE.

Where did they live?
Knowledge of Democritus’ life is largely limited to untrustworthy tradition. It seems that he was a wealthy citizen of Abdera, in Thrace; that he travelled widely in the East; and that he lived to an advanced age.

What new information did they contribute to the understanding of the atom?
Democritus was a central figure in the development of the atomic theory of the universe. He theorized that all material bodies are made up of indivisibly small “atoms.” Aristotle famously rejected atomism in On Generation and Corruption. Aristotle refused to believe that the whole of reality is reducible to a system of atoms, as Democritus said. As it turned out, though, Democritus was right.

Interesting facts
Despite its phonetic similarity to Democritus, democracy is not named for Democritus. The word democracy is actually derived from the Greek dēmokratiā, which in turn derives from the Greek dēmos (meaning “people”) and kratos (meaning “rule”).

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