Archimedes, with n=4, obtained While hardly better than estimates one could get with a ruler, this is the first method that can be used to generate an arbitrary number of digits, and to a nonnumerical mathematician perhaps the problem ends here. Variations on this theme provided the basis for virtually all calculations of for the next 1800 years, culminating with a 34 digit calculation due to Ludolph van Ceulen (1540--1610). This demands polygons with about sides and so is extraordinarily time consuming.