Descartes (1596 – 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. His most famous philosophical statement is "Cogito ergo sum" (Latin) which means "I think, therefore I am" in proper English.

A "Cartesian" spirit (as most of you know) is inspired by Descartes' way of thinking which bases its deductions from logical analysis and systematic mechanistic interpretation of physical nature (no less).

Descartes was also a traveler. In 1649, he moved to Sweden at the invitation of Queen Christina in order to organize a new scientific academy and give her some lessons which, for whatever reasons, he gave three times a week, at 5 a.m, in her cold and drafty castle.

And, guess what, he caught pneumonia and died there!

His remains were brought back to France and are burried in the church Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. If I take you inside that church (easy, your call), I will of course tell you how his body ended there. It's all there... except his skull which has an incredible story of its own and which is...

Now, wait a minute, you think I'm going to tell you the whole story just like that?

That, my friend, would be like putting Descartes before the horse!

(Sorry, I couldn't help it...)