Google doodles 10th century Persian scientist

"You have to do something pretty great to get a moon crater named after you," Google comments in the description to its new doodle celebrating Abu Al-Wafa' Al-Buzjani’s 1075th birthday.
"His picture may not be pinned to the wall in elementary school classrooms, but it’s now pinned to the homepage of Google.com," Google proudly announces.

Abu Al-Wafa' Al-Buzjani was born on 10 June 940 and died on 15 July 998.

Having spent all his life in Baghdad, Al-Buzjani is acclaimed for his important contributions to science. His works on spherical trigonometry created an impact on further study in mathematics and astronomy.

Revolutionary for his time, Al-Buzjani’s research revolved around planetary theory, and ways of determining the direction of Qibla, the direction for Muslim prayers in Mecca.

"His contributions to science include one of the first known introductions to negative numbers, and the development of the first quadrant, a tool used by astronomers to examine the sky," Google says.

The doodle's reach covers North Africa and a few Middle East countries.

Google has often devoted its doodle to anniversaries, shedding light on famous international events and figures, often focusing on the MENA region.

On several occasions the doodles have included an Egyptian theme, such as two released in July 2014: one dedicated to late Egyptian actor and filmmaker Farid Shaqki and the other celebrating prominent Egyptian author Sohair El-Qalamawy on the 103rd anniversary of her birth.

Google also published a doodle about Egypt's 2012 elections.
Source: Ahram Online