Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia (1499 - December 13, 1557) was an Italian mathematician, engineer, surveyor and translator. He published many books, including the first Italian translations of Archimedes and Euclid, and an acclaimed compilation of mathematics. He was the first to apply mathematics to the investigation of the paths of cannonballs, known as ballistics, in his "Nova Scientia" ("A New Science"); his work was later partially validated and partially superseded by Galileo's studies on falling bodies. He also published a treatise on retrieving sunken ships. This image has been color enhanced.