Evangelista Torricelli was an Italian physicist and mathematician, and a student of Benedetto Castelli. He is best known for his invention of the barometer, but is also known for his advances in optics and work on the method of indivisibles. The torr is named after him. October 15, 1608 – October 25, 1647; died at 39. Alive at the same time as René Descartes, Molière, Rembrandt, Osman II, and John Locke. Wiki link