Which ancient Greek scientist boasted that he could move the earth if he had a place on which to stand?

The exceptional Greek scientist, Archimedes (287- 212 BCE), made the famous statement, “Give me a place on which to stand, and I will move the earth.” (Simplicius: On Aristotle Physics 1.3-4, 1110. 5). What he said has now been clarified. It means in principle that with a large enough lever and a place to stand, the strength needed to move even something as heavy as the earth can feasibly be accomplished.

Born at Syracuse, son of an astronomer Phidias, and killed at the sack of the city by the Romans under Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Archimedes was on intimate terms with King Hieron II of Syracuse. He may have visited Egypt, but he lived most of his life at Syracuse. He was a mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer; he became a figure of legend and one of the fore-most scientists of antiquity.

He was probably not an aristocrat, although he associated with some well known men who were. He enjoyed corresponding with Aristarchus, Conon, Dositheus, Eratosthenes, and other mathematicians (scholars). He became popular in history because he invented marvelous machines, devices, and had ideas which caused society to grow. He is especially important for his discovery of the relation between the surface and volume of a sphere and its circumscribing cylinder. He came up with the formulation of a hydro-static principle (known as Archimedes’ principle) and a device for raising water, still used in developing countries, known as the Archimedes screw.