much of his thinking, and is credited for laying the foundation
for much of Einstein’s work in physics.Ries, Adam (Adam Riese)(1492–1559) German mathematician
credited with writing the first arithmetic book meant to teach
the masses rather than exclusively scientists and scholars, as
had previously been the practice. His book, Rechenung nach
der lenge, auff den Linihen und Feder,included the
fundamentals of addition, subtraction, MULTIPLICATION, and
division, and it incorporated the + and – signs.
Rolle, Michel(1652–1719) French mathematician who believed that
differential calculus was “a collection of ingenious fallacies.”
In 1689 Rolle wrote a book on algebra, Traité d’algèbre,which
contains a THEOREMthat deals with roots of an EQUATION,
known as Rolle’s theorem. He was a self-taught mathematician
who also worked on Euclidean geometry.
Rudolff, Christoff(1499–1545) Polish mathematician whose algebra
book, Die Coss,is credited as the first German textbook to
cover algebra. His most renowned contribution is the invention
of the symbol √
−
for SQUARE ROOT.
SacroboscoSeeJOHN DE HOLYWOOD.
Simpson, Thomas(1710–61) Self-educated British weaver turned
mathematician, Simpson became a professor of mathematics
and published many works on the sciences, including Fluxions,
Laws of Chance, Annuities and Reversions, Algebra, Geometry,
Trigonometry,several papers dealing with astronomy and
physics, and Miscellaneous Tracts.He had a reputation for
drinking cheap liquor and keeping “low company.”
Stevinus, Simon (Simon Stevin)(1548–1620) Dutch military
engineer who used symbols to denote EXPONENTs, introduced
the use of DECIMALs in mathematics, and suggested using the
decimal system for measurements. He published 11 books,
including works on geometry, trigonometry, and hydrostatics,
the last of which resulted in his fame as the inventor of the
field of hydrostatics. Other important work includes his ideas
surrounding inclined PLANEs.
Ries – Stevinus BIOGRAPHIES
Ries – Stevinus BIOGRAPHIES