Birth of Probability Theory

In 1654, Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat exchanged correspondence addressing gambling problems posed by French nobleman Chevalier de Méré. Their collaboration solved the 'problem of points' - how to fairly divide stakes when a game of chance is interrupted before completion. This work established fundamental principles of probability theory, including mathematical expectation. Pascal developed these concepts further in his 'Traité du triangle arithmétique,' which contained the binomial distribution and Pascal's triangle. Their mathematical framework for analyzing games of chance created applications in insurance, statistics, physics, and economics.