Assertion: principle | /r/HasProperty | proposed by french mathematician
Facets:
value: in 1662
type: TEMPORAL
value: as a means
type: MANNER
Source sentences:
text: First proposed by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in 1662, as a means of explaining the ordinary law of refraction of light (Fig. 1), Fermat's principle was initially controversial because it seemed to ascribe knowledge and intent to nature.