Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: Blaise Pascal ( ; June 19 , 1623 â `` August 19 , 1662 ) , was a French mathematician , physicist , inventor , writer and Catholic philosopher .
Simplified: Blaise Pascal ( 1623 - 1662 ) was a French mathematician whose mother died when he was 3 years old .