Cavalieri, Bonaventura (c. 1598–1647)

Italian mathematician. He specialized in geometry. At an early age he entered the Society of Jesus, and on its recommendation was appointed professor of mathematics at Bologna University in 1629. In his Geometria indivisibilibus continuorum nova quadam ratione promota/A certain method for the development of a new geometry for continuous indivisibles (1635), he expounded his celebrated theory of indivisibles. According to his conception, all space may be regarded as made up of an infinite number of parts, which represent the limit of decomposition that the mind can imagine anything to undergo. This theory had a great influence on the development of the use of calculus for calculating areas. Cavalieri was born in Milan, Italy.