Omar Khayyám (c. 1050–c. 1123)

Persian astronomer, mathematician, and poet. In the West, he is chiefly known as a poet through Edward Fitzgerald's version of ‘The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám’ (1859).

Khayyám was born in Nishapur. He founded a school of astronomical research and assisted in reforming the calendar. The result of his observations was the Jalālī era, begun 1079. He wrote a study of algebra, which was known in Europe as well as in the East.