Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi

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Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi

1236-1311

Persian mathematician, astronomer, and physician who devised a geometrical model for planetary longitudes that involved a minimum of rotating vectors. Al-Shirazi wrote on geometry, medicine, philosophy, theology, and optics. Some scholars credit him with providing the first correct qualitative explanation of the rainbow, though others attribute this to his pupil, al-Farisi.