c. 801-c. 866

Arab Philosopher, Astronomer, Mathematician, Physician, and Geographer

Al-Kindi, known in the West as Alkindus, was one of the Islamic world's most important and prolific scholars. The scope of his work was encyclopedic, encompassing alchemy, astronomy, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, geography, music, pharmacology, and more. Al-Kindi's ideas were highly influential in the Latin West during the Middle Ages due to a number of translations by Gerard of Cremona (1114?-1187).

Al-Kindi was born around 801 to a noble family of the Kinda tribe of Yemen. He was the first important Islamic philosopher of Arabic (Bedouin) origin and is commonly referred to as the first Arab philosopher. He was educated at the important intellectual center of Kufa (in modern Iraq) and later at Baghdad, where he attracted the attention of Caliph al-Ma'mun (786-833). Al-Ma'mun made...