In order to be remembered for one's excellent contributions to the world of mathematics, it is often necessary to not only stand out above the ordinary mathematicians but to also stand out as truly extraordinary. Some believe that Michel Rolle was able to accomplish the task.

Michel Rolle was born in 1652 in a province of France. He moved from his birthplace of Ambert to Paris and soon received an incredible opportunity to pursue his studies. Rolle joined the Academie Royale des Sciences in 1685. Since he had been able to skillfully impress Jean-Baptiste Colbert by solving a Jacques Ozanam problem, he had already secured a pension. It was as if Rolle was destined to dedicate his life to the study of mathematics.

Michel Rolle wasn't a fan of calculus. He didn't believe the foundations of it were accurate. Later, he supported calculus but it took him a long time to realize that the fundamentals for which calculus was established were fundamentally correct.

Michel Rolle's work in mathematics included discovering the Rolle's Theorem which basically stated that a smooth "function" will have a stationary point somewhere between two points. His theorem was discovered by using methods of differential calculus.

Michel Rolle died in 1719. The legacy that he left behind as a French mathematician is one that will carry his name through history.