Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

al-Bīrūnī: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī
Born September 4, 973 • Khwārezm • Khorāsān
Died c.1052
Notable Works “Al-Qānūn al-Masʿūdi”
Subjects Of Study India • medicine

Photos

Al-Bīrūnī, Afghan commemorative stamp, 1973.
Map showing the birthplaces of prominent mathematicians from the Islamic world, marked with city names and mathematician names across the Middle East and Central Asia. Cities such as Baghdad, Basra, Harran, and others are labeled, each associated with a historical mathematician. Modern country boundaries and a locator inset of the region are included.
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic
default image
ʿAbd al-Qādir Badāʾūnī
Indo-Persian historian
Thomas Babington Macaulay, detail of an oil painting by J. Partridge, 1840; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay
English politician and author
default image
John Crawfurd
British scholar and diplomat
default image
Bana
Indian writer
Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, sepia drawing by George Frederick Watts; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet
British law scholar
default image
Ctesias
Greek physician and historian
James Rennell
James Rennell
British geographer
default image
Mahadev Govind Ranade
Indian politician
default image
Megasthenes
Greek historian
default image
al-Dīnawarī
astronomer, botanist, and historian
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Indian social activist, lawyer, and politician
Detail from Charles Le Brun's painting showing Alexander the Great in profile, wearing a gold helmet with white plumes and a blue cloak, with soldiers in the background.
Alexander the Great
king of Macedonia
Jawaharlal Nehru, c. 1930s
Jawaharlal Nehru
prime minister of India
Annie Besant
Annie Besant
British social reformer
Amit Shah
Amit Shah
Indian politician
Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi
prime minister of India
Lord Curzon
Lord Curzon
British foreign secretary
Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Pakistani governor-general
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese navigator
Amitabh Bachchan wearing a black tuxedo, bow tie, and glasses, with neatly styled hair and a trimmed beard, photographed in 2013.
Amitabh Bachchan
Indian actor

Related Quizzes

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Physics and Natural Law
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
Temple ruins of columns and statures at Karnak, Egypt (Egyptian architecture; Egyptian archaelogy; Egyptian history)
History Buff Quiz
Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.
Faces of Science
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.
Faces of Science