World’s Most Famous Polymaths From Ancient Time to the 12th Century

All throughout history, there were several geniuses, polymaths and renaissance men/women who existed on this planet. All of them are well remembered and famous for their exceptional intelligence and achievements in their respective places and time. Men and women who are experts in many and various fields are called polymaths. Here’s a long list of polymaths from ancient time up to the 20^th century.

Imhotep – all-around polymath

Born: 2650 BCE

Died: 2011 BCE

Nationality: Egyptian

Expert as: Physician, architect

Famous as: Egyptian chancellor

Zhang Heng – Chinese polymath

Born: 78 CE

Died: 139 CE

Nationality: Chinese

Expert as: Astronomer, cartographer, geographer, inventor, mathematician, painter, poet and sculptor

Famous as: Chinese official, scholar of history and philosophy

Notable achievements: Invention of the first water-powered armillary sphere and first seismometer in the world

Al-Khwarizmi – the polymath researcher

Born: 780 CE

Died: 850 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: Astronomer, geographer, mathematician

Famous as: The greatest polymath in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad

Al-Jahiz – Arab Scholar

Born: 781 CE

Died: 869 CE

Nationality: Arab

Expert as: Arabic prose writer, author of many books in Arabic literature, biology, history, Islamic philosophy and psychology, theology and zoology

Famous as: Scholar and polymath

Ziryab – Renaissance Man before the Renaissance

Born: 789 CE

Died: 857 CE

Nationality: Iraqi-Andalusian

Expert as: astronomer, botanist, celebrity, cosmetologist, fashion designer, geographer, musician, poet, singer and trendsetter

Al-Kindi – also known as Alkindus

Born: 801 CE

Died: 873 CE

Nationality: Arab

Expert as: Astronomer, geographer, mathematician, meteorologist, musician, philosopher, physician, physicist, politician and scientist

Famous as: Omnivorous polymath

Notable achievements: Wrote 265 treatises

Abbas Ibn Firnas – A Berber polymath

Born: 810 CE

Died: 887 CE

Nationality: Berber

Expert as: Andalusian musician, Arabic poet, aviator, engineer and inventor

Famous as: Known for an early attempt at aviation,

Abu Zayd al-Balkhi – Persian Muslim Polymath, disciple of Al-Kindi

Born: 850 CE

Died: 934 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: Geographer, mathematician, physician, psychologist and scientist

Notable achievements: Founder of Balkhi School of terrestrial mapping in Baghdad

Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi – also known as Rhases

Born: 865 CE

Died: 925 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: Alchemist, physician, philosopher and scientist

Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Masu’udi an Erudite historian

Born: 896 CE

Died: 956 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: Arab historian, Earth scientist, Islamic scholar, geographer, geologist and traveler

Famous as: Prolific writer and polymath

Abhinayagupta – the great Kashmiri philosopher and polymath

Born: 975 CE

Died: 1025 CE

Nationality: Indian

Expert as: Aesthetic, dancer, dramatist, exegetical theologian, literary critic, logician, musician, philosopher and poet

Famous as: the great Kashmiri philosopher and polymath

Ibn al-Haytham or Alhazen – a universal genius

Born: 965 CE

Died: 1039 CE

Nationality: Iraqi

Expert as: anatomist, astronomer, engineer, inventor, mathematician, ophthalmologist, philosopher, physician, physicist, psychologist, scientist and theologian.

Famous as: A devout, brilliant polymath, a great man and a universal genius

Notable achievements: Credited with codifying the earliest form of the contemporary scientific method

Abu Rayhan al-Biruni – a scholar in many disciplines

Born: 973 CE

Died: 1048 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as:  anthropologist, astrologer, astronomer, encyclopedist, geodesist, geographer, geologist, historian, mathematician, natural historian, pharmacist, physician, philosopher, scholar, teacher, traveler and theologian

Famous as: Uzbekistan’s most universal genius

Notable achievements: Introduced Indian scientific knowledge and thought to the Middle East and the West

Avicenna – Father of Modern Medicine

Born: 980 CE

Died: 1037 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: Astronomer, chemist, geologist, logician, mathematician, paleontologist, poet, physician, psychologist, scientist and teacher

Famous as: Known as the “father of modern medicine”, father of the fundamental concept of momentum in physics and “father of geology”

Notable achievements: Wrote about 450 treatises on different subjects and medicine, pioneer of aromatherapy for his invention of steam distillation and extraction of essential oil. He developed the concept of uniformitarianism and law of superposition in geology

Ibn Hazm – Arab polymath

Born: 994 CE

Died: 1064 CE

Nationality: Andalusian-Arab

Expert in: comparative religion, ethics, history, jurisprudence, logic and theology

Notable achievements: The Ring of the Dove on the art of love

Omar Khayyam – a Persian polymath

Born: 1048 CE

Died: 1131 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: astronomer, mathematician, physician, philosopher, poet, physicist and writer

Notable achievements: Wrote treatises on geography, mechanics and music

Al-Ghazali – a Persian philosopher and polymath

Born: 1058 CE

Died: 1111 CE

Nationality: Persian

Expert as: cosmologist, comparative religionist, critic, encyclopedic author, jurist, moralist, philosopher, psychologist and theologian, theorist

Notable achievements: Pioneer of the methods of doubt and skepticism

Acharva Hemachandra – one of the great polymaths of medieval India

Born: 1089 CE

Died: 1172 CE

Nationality: Indian

Expert as: grammarian, historian, linguist, poet, philosopher, prosodist and scholar

Famous as: One of the great polymaths of medieval India

Ibn Baijah or Avempace – an Arab-Muslim polymath

Born: 1095 CE

Died: 1138 CE

Nationality: Arab-Muslim

Expert as: Astronomer, logician, musician, philosopher, poet, psychologist, physician, physicist and scientist

Ibn Tufail or Abubacer – an Arab polymath scholar

Born: 1105 CE

Died: 1185 CE

Nationality: Andalusian Arab

Expert as: Court official, novelist, philosopher, physician and writer

Watch out for more!!!