Leibniz, one of the great contributors to the Age of Enlightenment, wanted to collate all human knowledge -- but was unable to do so. However, among his many accomplishments, he developed the present day notation for differential and integral calculus, and the binary number system at the basis of digital computers. Â He was one of the 17th century's great advocates of rationalism along with Descartes and Spinoza. Â A prolific writer on a vast array of subjects, Leibnitz left behind at his death tens of thousands of letters and unpublished manuscripts.Â
