Peter is a longstanding member of Chester u3a with an interest in numbers, although he hastens to confirm that he is not an accountant. He will describe some of the numbers which nowadays surround us all, and tell the story of how, over a few thousand years, we came to develop the useful but weird concept of zero. The contribution of one particular historical figure, the hero of the title, will be highlighted. Peter assures members that no maths is involved in the presentation and no numbers were harmed in its production. The picture is of a number machine made by the speaker.