Number System

Brahmagupta (589-668)

Al-Khwarizmi

We call them Arabic Numerals, but our numbers actually find their origins in the history of the Hindus of India.They have changed greatly over the centuries, passing first to the Arabs of the Middle East and finally to Europe in the Middle Ages, and are now the most commonly used numbers throughout the world. When exactly the Hindus first began using a place value decimal system which incorporated zero is not certain.They were certainly using such a system in 400 CE, where we first find inscriptions of 0. (The Maya were using 0 before this time, and were the first to use it.) Brahmagupta writes Brahmasphutasiddhanta (The Opening of the Universe). "It contains some remarkably advanced ideas, including a good understanding of the mathematical role of zero, rules for manipulating both negative and positives method for computing aquare roots, methods of solving linear and some quadratic equations, and rules for summing series, Brahamgupta's identity, and the Brahmagupta's theorem." By this time a base 10 numeral system with nine symbols is widely used in India, and the concept of zero (represented by a dot) is known. The first universally accepted inscription containing the use of the 0 glyph is first recorded in the 9th century, in an inscription at Gwalior in Central India dated to 870. By this time, the use of the glyph had already reached Persia, and was mentioned in Al-Khwarizmi's descriptions of Indian numerals. Numerous Indian documents on copper plates exist, with the same symbol for zero in them, dated back as far as the 6th century CE.

Indices & Logarithm

John Napier (1550-1617)

Henry Briggs (1561- 1630)

Logarithms were invented by John Napier (1550-1617), Baron of Merchiston, in Scotland. It is one of the great curiosities of the history of science that Napier constructed logarithms before exponents were used. To be sure, Stifcl and Stcvin had made attempts to denote powers by indices, but this notation was not generally known not even to T Harriot, whose ALGEBRA appeared long after Napier's death. That logarithms flow naturally from the exponential symbol was not observed until much later. The invention of the common system of logarithms is due to the combined effort of Napier and Henry Biggs in 1624. Natural logarithms first arose as more or less accidental variations of Napier's original logarithms. Their real significance was not recognized until later. The earliest natural logarithms occur in 1618.

Theory of Sets

Georg Cantor (1845-1918)

John Venn

VENN DIAGRAMS Many ideas about sets and various relationships between them can be visualised by means of geometric figures known as Venn diagrams. John Venn (1834-1923), a british logician, developed the above idea, So Venn diagrams are named after him. In our every day life we are all familiar with the idea of a set, which is simply a collection of well-defined and distinct objects. The theory of Sets was introduced by a German mathematician George-Cantor (1845-1918). Cantor: "In our every day life we are all familiar with the idea of a set, which is simply a collection of well-defined and distinct objects."

The Straight Line

William Rowan Hamilton

Rene Descartes (17th century)

The history of modern linear algebra dates back to the early 1840's. In 1843, William Rowan Hamilton introduced quaternions, which describe mechanics in three-dimensional space. In 1844, Hermann Grassmann published his book Die lineale Ausdehnungslehre (see References). Arthur Cayley introduced matrices, one of the most fundamental linear algebraic ideas, in 1857. Despite these early developments, linear algebra has been developed primarily in the twentieth century.

The invention of Cartesian coordinates in the 17th century by Rene" Descartes revolutionized mathematics by providing the first systematic link between Euclidean geometry and algebra. Using the Cartesian coordinate system, geometric shapes (such as curves) can be described by Cartesian equations: algebraic equations involving the coordinates of the points lying on the shape.

Quadratic Equation

Euclid's (325-270 BC)

Aryabhata (475 or 476-550)

Euclid's (ca. 325-270 BC) Data contains three problems involving quadratics. In his work Arithmetica, the Greek mathematician Diophantus (ca.210-290) solved the quadratic equation, but giving only one root, even when both roots were positive. A number of Indian mathematicians gave rules equivalent to the quadratic formula. It is possible that certain altar constructions dating from ca. 500 BC represent solutions of the equation, but even should this be the case, there is no record of the method of solution .The Hindu mathematician Aryabhata (475 or 476-550) gave a rule for the sum of a geometric series that shows knowledge of the quadratic equations with both solutions. Aryabhata (475 or 476-550)

Binomial Theorem

Euclid's (325-270 BC)

Pascal (1601 -1665)

SSir Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

The binomial theorem was known for the case by Euclid around 300 BC, and stated in its modern form by in a posthumous pamphlet published in 1665. Pascal's pamphlet, together with his correspondence on the subject with Fermat beginning in 1654 (and published in 1679) is the basis for naming the arithmetical triangle in his honor. Sir Isaac Newton was the greatest English mathematician of his generation. He laid the foundation for Binomial theorem. His work on optics and gravitation make him one of the greatest scientists the world has known.

Permutation & Combination

Luca Pacioli

Girolamo Cardan or Cardano

Luca Pacioli and Girolamo Cardano among authors who included rules of combinations and permutations in their works. Luca Pacioli was an Italian mathematician who published the influential book Suma in 1494 giving a summary of all the mathematics known at that time Girolamo Cardan or Cardano was an Italian doctor and mathematician who is famed for his work Ars Magna which was the first Latin treatise devoted solely to algebra. In it he gave the methods of solution of the permutation and combination.

Progression

T. R. Malthusd (766-1834)

Aryabhata In 499 CE

In 499 CE Aryabhata, a great mathematician-astronomer from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy gave this method in the Aryab-hatiya (section 2.18) [1]. So, for example, the sum of the terms of the arithmetic progression given by an = 3 + (n-1 )(5) up to the 50th term is

S50 = |9[2(3) + (49)(5)] = 6,275.

Geometric sequences (with common ratio not equal to _1,1 or 0) show exponential growth or exponential decay, as opposed to the Linear growth (or decline) of an arithmetic progression such as 4,15,26,37,48,... (With common difference 11).This result was taken byT.R.Malthus as the mathematical foundation of his Principle of Population. Note that the two kinds of progression are related: exponentiating each term of an arithmetic progression yields a geometric progression, while taking the logarithm of each term in a geometric progression with a positive common ratio yields an arithmetic progression.

Matrix & Determinant

James Joseph Sylvester

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

The history of matrices goes back to ancient times! But the term "matrix" was not applied to the concept until 1850. "Matrix" is the Latin word for womb, and it retains that sense in English. It can also mean more generally any place in which something is formed or produced. The term "matrix" for such arrangements was introduced in 1850 by James Joseph Sylvester. Sylvester, incidentally, had a (very) brief career at the University of Virginia, which came to an abrupt end after an enraged Sylvester hit a newspaper-reading student with a sword stick and fled the country, believing he had killed the student! Determinant was first introduced by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz early in the 18th century. Besides this mathematician Cramer gave a good contribution towards determinants.

Calculus

Sir Isaac Newton 1643 -1727

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Isaac Newton was the greatest English mathematician of his generation. He laid the foundation for differential and integral calculus. His work on optics and gravitation make him one of the greatest scientists the world has known