Omar Khayyām () or Omar Khayyam (b. May 18 1048 Nishapur, (Iran) – d. December 4 1131) was a Persian, mathematician, astronomer and poet.
In mathematics he contributed to the theory of equations, to the understanding of the parallel axiom, and possibly to the generalization of the binomial theorem. As an astronomer he contributed to a calendar reform when Sultan Malik-Shah decided that the calendar needed some adjusting. He is best known for his agnostic and sceptic poetry, largely because of the publication in 1859 of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by the translator Edward Fitzgerald.
References
E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and 25 years in the writing). 1998. Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. 1968.
Related pages
List of Persian poets and authors
Other websites
The Persian Poet (http://www.omar-khayyam.org ) - Contains the translations by Edward FitzGerald and a biography. The Rubaiyat On Omar's solutions to cubic equations Khayyam, Umar. A biography by Professor Iraj Bashiri, University of Minnesota.