section_path: History/Early modern number theory/Fermat
section_name: Fermat
paragraph_text: Fermat
  
  Pierre de Fermat (1607–1665) never published his writings; in particular, his work on number theory is contained almost entirely in letters to mathematicians and in private marginal notes. In his notes and letters, he scarcely wrote any proofs—he had no models in the area.
  
  Over his lifetime, Fermat made the following contributions to the field: