Mind-Benders of Greek & Roman History
Archimedes and China's first emperor were contemporaries
While Archimedes was working out his geometry and designing war-machines at Syracuse, Qin Shi Huang was unifying China and commissioning the Terracotta Army for his tomb. The two were contemporaries for decades and died within two years of each other.
How we know
Archimedes c. 287–212 BCE; Qin Shi Huang 259–210 BCE (unified China 221 BCE). Overlap 259–212 BCE = 47 years; deaths 2 years apart.
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.