Page "Probability theory" Paragraph 2

The mathematical theory of probability has its roots in attempts to analyze games of chance by Gerolamo Cardano in the sixteenth century, and by Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal in the seventeenth century ( for example the " problem of points ").

Christiaan Huygens published a book on the subject in 1657 and in the 19th century a big work was done by Laplace in what can be considered today as the classic interpretation.