Eratosthenes measuring the circumference of earth

More than 2,000 years ago Eratosthenes compared the position of the Sun’s rays in two locations to calculate the spherical size of the Earth with reasonable accuracy.
 Eratosthenes was born in the Greek colony Cyrene, now the city of Shahhat, Libya. As a young man, he traveled to Athens to pursue his studies. He returned to Cyrene and made such a name for himself in scholarly endeavors that the Greek ruler of Egypt brought him to Alexandria to tutor his son. When the chief librarian of the famous Library of Alexandria died in 236 BCE, Eratosthenes was appointed to the prominent position around the age of 40.
A man of many talents, Eratosthenes was a librarian, geographer, mathematician, astronomer, historian, and poet. His friends at the library nicknamed him Pentathlos, or athlete who competes in five different events. The name seemed to fit a scholar who excelled in many fields of study. Most of Eratosthenes’s writings have been lost, but other scholars reported his work and findings — which were extensive.