Who discovered pi?

An approximation of pi has been used for over 4000 years. The brilliant mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse lived around 287 to 212 BC and is recognized for finding the closest approximation to the value of pi.

Early mathematicians calculated the area of a circle by squaring the value of the radius and multiplying it by three. Babylonian artifacts dated as far back as 1900 B.C. depicted the use of pi and valued it at around three. One tablet calculated the value of pi at closer to 3.125. The representation of pi using the Greek letter ? did not come into use until the early 1700s.