How was the quadratic formula found and proven?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Why can ALL quadratic equations be solved by the quadratic formula?
History of Quadratic Formula

How was the quadratic formula $\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$ found and proven?

Answer 1

It seems that Alkharazmi was the first person who found the formula in generla case. Though, he stated it in terms of Arabic words like "Xi", means "thing". How did it find it? Here is the summery of his work, in our language.

Answer 2

by completing the square. $a\neq 0$, $ax^2+bx+c=a\left(x^2+\dfrac{b}{a}x+\dfrac{c}{a}\right)=\cdots$

Answer 3

I don't know for sure, but I imagine it was first found by thinking about rearranging squares and rectangles, as in the following image: