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Rene Descartes was born in La Haye en Touraine, Indre-et-Loire, France on March 31, 1596. At the age of one, his mother, Jeanne Brochard, passed away. Joachim, his father, was a member in the Provincial Parliament. Rene entered the Jesuit College Royal Henry-Le-Grand at approximately age eleven. He earned a Baccalaurat and License in Law in 1616. He planned to follow his father' wishes of becoming a lawyer.

Rene joined the International College of war in the Dutch Republics in 1618, at which time he met Isaac Beeckman. Beeckman had a profound influence on him, sparking his interest in mathematics and physics. While stationed in Germany, Descartes had three dreams, or visions, which he claims had a strong influence on his life. These dreams led him to pursue the fields of mathematics and science.

After returning to his home in France in 1623, he invested heavily in bonds by selling all of his property. This payed off, as the earnings provided a comfortable income for the rest of his life. He enrolled in the University of Franeker in 1629, then the Leiden University in 1630 to study mathematics and astronomy with Jacob Golius and Martin Hortensius, respectfully. In October of that year, he accused Beeckman of plagiarizing his work. Also in that year, he met a servant girl in Amsterdam with whom he will have a daughter, Francine. Francine dies at age five in 1640 of scarlett fever.

While in the Netherlands for approximately twenty years, he did most of his work which revolutionized mathematics and philosophy. In 1637, Descartes published "Discourse on the Method," in which he outlines four rules of thought designed to ensure our knowledge rests on a firm foundation. Various other works involving mathematics and philosophty were published throughout the rest of his life. . Rene Descartes died on February 11, 1650, his cause of death recorded as being pneumonia. However, German philosopher by the name of Theodor Ebert concluded in his book, //Der rätselhafte Tod des René Descartes//, that Descartes was actually assasinated with an arsenic-laced communion wafer administered by a Catholic priest.