Theon of Smyrna (The Old Theon, Theon the Mathematician)
(ca. 70–135) Greek mathematician who wrote a textbook on
arithmetic that he claimed was an introduction to Plato’s
mathematics. Instead, the book was more about the
interrelation of arithmetic and PRIME NUMBERs, geometry and
SQUAREs, music, and astronomy. While he includes THEOREMs
in this book to help explain these subjects, most agree that he
was not terribly familiar with Plato’s geometry.
al-Uqlidisi, Abu’l Hasan Ahmad ibn Ibrahim(ca. 920–80) He is
believed to have been from Damascus, and his work, translated
around 1960, is the earliest example of calculating DECIMAL
FRACTIONs, and the earliest use of the equivalent of a decimal
point, which was denoted at that time by (′) rather than today’s
symbol (.).
Viète, François (Franciscus Vieta)(1540–1603) A French lawyer
who enjoyed mathematics as a hobby, Viète is known most for
his book In Artem Analyticam Isagoge,or Introduction to the
Analytical Art,published in 1591. This book explains how
algebra can be used to solve problems in geometry, and gives
the basic principles of algebra that are in use today. Viète was
the first person to give us a systematic approach to using
algebraic notation, specifically using letters to represent known
and unknown quantities, and he introduced the term
COEFFICIENT. He was the first to suggest using just one
notation to represent a quantity of an EXPONENT, instead of
using a different letter every time a quantity’s exponent
changed, and was the first to suggest that PIwas infinite. He
also wrote on geometry, trigonometry, geography, cosmology,
astronomy, and calendar reform.
Von Neumann, John (János van Neumann)(1903–57) Hungarian
mathematician who dazzled friends as a child by memorizing
the phone book. Von Neumann’s brilliance in mathematics was
recognized at an early age, but the practicality of earning a
living was a concern for his family, and his father did not want
him to earn a degree in a subject like mathematics because
there was little hope of it paying very well. To abide by his
father’s wishes, and to follow a path that held his passion, von
Neumann enrolled at two universities simultaneously in 1921,
the University of Budapest for mathematics and the University
Theon of Smyrna – Von Neumann BIOGRAPHIES
Theon of Smyrna – Von Neumann BIOGRAPHIES
John Von Neumann
(Courtesy of AIP Emilio Segrè
Visual Archives)