Math & science · 1654
Probability theory
Pascal and Fermat work out how to split the stakes of an unfinished game.
Their letters on the problem of points founded the mathematics of chance, and Huygens published the first textbook in 1657. Probability now underlies insurance, statistics, physics and machine learning.
What it built on 2
What it led to 7
Related measurements
The dashed line marks when it first worked.
Life expectancy in the UK since 1543 Latest: 81.3 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data