1613 lPIETRO ANTONIO CATALDIinvents CONTINUED FRACTIONs.
1614 lJOHN NAPIERinvents the concept of LOGARITHMs, discussed
in his book Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio,
which is translated from Latin into English two years later.
In 1615 he visits HENRY BRIGGSand encourages him to
develop base 10 logarithmic tables, using log 1 = 0.1617 lNapier publishes his book Rabdologia,in which he
introduces his mechanical system for multiplying and
dividing, known as Napier’s bones.1619 lRENÉ DESCARTEShas a series of dreams about philosophy
and analytical geometry on the night of November 10,
causing him to change the focus of his life’s work.1621 lFrench writer Claude-Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac
translates and publishes Diophantus’s Arithmeticafrom
Greek into Latin. Bachet’s becomes the most famous
translation of the work.1624 lClaude-Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac’s second edition of his
book Problèmes plaisantsincludes mathematical tricks, and
he is the first to suggest CONTINUED FRACTIONs as a solution
of indeterminate equations.1629 lBONAVENTURA CAVALIERIis the first to state the principle of
indivisibles, in which a line, a surface, and a VOLUMEare
each made up of an infinite number of points, lines, and
surfaces, respectively. This was first printed in 1635.lAlbert Girard is the first to use brackets in mathematics.
1631 lHarriot’s book Aequationes Algebraicas Resolvendasis
published 10 years after his death, and is the first to
introduce the symbols of GREATER THANand LESS THAN.lHarriot uses a dot as the symbol for MULTIPLICATION.
lWILLIAM OUGHTREDpublishes Clavis Mathematicae,
introducing the symbol x for multiplication.1613 – 1631 CHRONOLOGY
1613 – 1631 CHRONOLOGY