Apollonius of Perga
Apollonius of Perga (about
262 BC - about
190 BC) was a Greek geometer, noted for his writings on
conic sections. It was Apollonius who gave the
ellipse, the
parabola, and the
hyperbola the names by which we know them. The hypotheses of eccentric orbits, or equivalently, deferent and epicycles, to explain the apparent motion of the planets and the varying speed of the Moon, are also attributed to him.