History Publications History 11-2009 Hero of Alexandria: Greek mathematician and engineer David B. Hollander Iowa State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/history_pubs Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Heat Transfer, Combustion Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons, and the Technical and Professional Writing Commons The ompc lete bibliographic information for this item can be found at https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ history_pubs/111. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the History at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Publications by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Hero of Alexandria: Greek mathematician and engineer Abstract Hero invented, improved, or at least preserved the designs for a variety of devices, including a surveying instrument, a catapult, a coin-operated water dispenser, and automata. His most famous invention was the aeolipile, a forerunner of the steam engine. Disciplines Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Heat Transfer, Combustion | History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering | Technical and Professional Writing Comments This book chapter is published as Hollander, D.B. Hero of Alexandria: Greek mathematician and engineer, in Great Lives from History: Inventors & Inventions. November 2009, 2; 514-516. Posted with permission. This book chapter is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/history_pubs/111 .