44.

Biography 

The kinematics of free-falling bodies was of major interest to scientists interested in acceleration since Aristotle first formulated his theories of motion in his Physics.  The first quantification of acceleration and its connection between velocity and distance came as a truly remarkable theorem, sometimes called “the acceleration theorem” and at other times called “the mean speed theorem.”  It stated that a free-falling body would fall according to the formula v = 2s/t, where v and s respectively are the velocity and distance of fall at time t.

Who was the first of the following scientists to prove this theorem?

Author: Joseph Mazur

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Correct answer 3:  William Heytesbury  Heytesbury proved this theorem sometime between the years 1330 and 1350AD.  Historians have had a hard time pinpointing the date of the paper in which his proof appears.  All three men gave different proofs of the theorem.  Leonardo was born in 1452 and Galileo was born in 1564.