A history of mathematics by Malcolm Drew https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0 The simultaneous international expansion of mathematics. en-us 2022-03-26 02:55:39 UTC 2026-01-30 06:56:41 UTC hello@padlet.com 570-495 BC Pythagoras https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137374498 Expansion of geometry, square and triangular numbers, Pythagoras’ theorem]]> 2022-04-09 13:31:00 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137374498 1010-1070 AD Jia Xian (Chinese) https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137381258 First discovery of the "Pascal's Triangle"]]> 2022-04-09 13:42:36 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137381258 1653 AD Blaise Pascal https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137384194 Pascal's Triangle
Addition: 
Pascal started studying maths only at the age of 12 with geometry. He may have invented the first digital calculator, mainly to help his father with his work collecting tax. Pascal made significant contributions in projective geometry. The triangle now known as Pascal's Triangle was attributed to him because of its use in several of his work, even though he never claimed the triangle to be his.]]> 2022-04-09 13:47:52 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137384194 1200's AD Yang Hui (Chinese) https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137387689 Chinese version of Pascal's Triangle]]> 2022-04-09 13:53:52 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137387689 1170-1250 AD Leonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137389260 Fibonacci Sequence of numbers, advocacy of the use of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system in Europe, Fibonacci’s identity (product of two sums of two squares is itself a sum of two squares)]]> 2022-04-09 13:56:13 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137389260 ~1556 AD Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137391424 Tartaglia Triangle (earlier version of Pascal's Triangle)]]> 2022-04-09 13:59:39 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137391424 1777 - 1855 Carl Friedrich Gauss - Germany https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137528043 The sum of 1 to n and many other contributions to the fields of number theory, algebra, geometry and astronomy]]> 2022-04-09 18:05:47 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137528043 1667 - 1754 Abraham de Moivre - France https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137528433 De Moivre's Formula - linking trigonometry with complex numbers as well as important contributions to the fields of probability and statistics]]> 2022-04-09 18:06:35 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137528433 1646 - 1716 Godfried Leibniz - Germany https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137530016 The development of calculus and its notation]]> 2022-04-09 18:09:29 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137530016 1550 - 1617 John Napier - Scotland https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137531636 Logarithms which was an important aid to calculation. Also popularised the use of the decimal point.]]> 2022-04-09 18:12:50 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137531636 1820 - 1910 Florence Nightingale https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137532331 Pioneered the visual presentation of statistical data.]]> 2022-04-09 18:14:19 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137532331 1596-1650 Rene Descarte https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137775767 Creation of the cartesian coordinate system as a means of connecting algebra and geometry.]]> 2022-04-10 04:22:01 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137775767 300ish BC Euclid's Elements https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137777744 Euclid brought the works of previous mathematicians together into one book. The book is one of the earliest examples of a textbook built on deductive mathematics.]]> 2022-04-10 04:28:01 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137777744 1665 Isaac Newton ssivakumar1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137778450 Binomial expansion of fractional indices, Maclaurin series ]]> 2022-04-10 04:30:17 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137778450 370-415 AD Hypatia of Alexandria flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137780165 (to date) Known as the first female mathematician to have made significant contribution to maths. Not much of her work survived but she may have assisted her father in producing new versions of Euclid's Elements. She became head of the Platonist school around 400 AD, which was a remarkable achievement for a woman then.]]> 2022-04-10 04:35:30 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137780165 1776 - 1831 Sophie Germain flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137782865 In her teens (some time after the French Rev), she decided she wanted to become a mathematician after reading about Archimedes' life in a book on the history of mathematics. Her family initially opposed this but seeing her passion gave way. She made notable contributions in number theory and curvature of surfaces, and attempted to prove Fermat's last theorem. ]]> 2022-04-10 04:43:58 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137782865 Leonhard Euler (1707 – 1783) https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137784052 founded the studies of graph theory, topology, and many discoveries in analytic number theory, complex analysis, infinitesimal calculus]]> 2022-04-10 04:47:37 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137784052 1850 - 1891 Sofia Kovalevskaya flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137785502 Her interest in maths started as a child and by the age of 11 she was able to understand some calculus methods. Years later she was allowed to study maths openly and under the  tutilage of Aleksandr Strannoliubskii she studied analytic geometry, differential and integral calculus. Her notable works were in differential equations. ]]> 2022-04-10 04:51:26 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137785502 Georgy Fedoseevich Voronoy (1868 – 1908) https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137786364
Best known for Voronoi diagram
]]> 2022-04-10 04:54:18 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137786364 801 AD - 873 AD: Al-Kindi https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137787499 He established Indian numerals to the Islamic world, which found its way to the Christian world. He also contributed to the evolution of cryptography. His book titled Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages advanced the rise of cryptanalysis. He popularized several methods of decoding cyphers, such as frequency analysis.]]> 2022-04-10 04:58:07 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137787499 1710 - 1761 Thomas Simpson - England https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137787595 Simpson’s rule for numerical integration]]> 2022-04-10 04:58:27 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137787595 Katherine Johnson (1918 – 2020) https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137787622 American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights (depicted in movie “Hidden Figures”)]]> 2022-04-10 04:58:31 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137787622 1882- 1911 Francis Galton - England https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137788151 Correlation, regression and standard deviation and pioneered the use of the questionnaire]]> 2022-04-10 05:00:09 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137788151 1815 - 1852 Ada Lovelace flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137788828 At the insistence of her mother, Ada studied maths and music from a young age, even though she preferred other subjects. In her late teens she met Charles Babbage and became interested in the Difference Engine (polynomial solving calculator) on display at his place. She started studying maths in greater depth and contributed to refining the programme to Babbage's Difference Engine.]]> 2022-04-10 05:02:43 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137788828 850 AD - 930 AD: Abu Kamil Shuja https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137789716 He is considered the first mathematician to use irrational numbers as solutions and coefficients to equations methodically. Fibonacci later embraced this method. 
He effortlessly worked on algebraic equations having powers higher than x2, solved sets of non-linear simultaneous equations with three unknown variables.]]> 2022-04-10 05:04:57 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137789716 858 AD - 929 AD: Al-Battani https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137790719 He measured the solar year was 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 24 seconds. He missed out by 2 minutes and 22 seconds! He produced several Trigonometric relationships including solving the equation sin x = a cos x and formula of a right-angled triangle.]]> 2022-04-10 05:07:57 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137790719 1718 - 1799 Maria Agnesi flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137792576 As a child she excelled at languages. When her parents denied her request to become a nun, she focused her studies on theology and maths. She wrote her first book on differential calculus as a teaching text and continued to publish improved versions of her work which she would became very well known for. One of her noted work is a discussion on the cubic curve now known as the "witch of agnesi".]]> 2022-04-10 05:14:14 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137792576 1100AD-1150AD: Jabir ibn Aflah https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137793714 He was an astronomer and mathematician. He invented torquetum that took and converted measurements into the horizon, equatorial, and ecliptic. In simple words, it was an analogue computer.]]> 2022-04-10 05:18:16 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137793714 1953 - ... Andrew Wiles flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137796050 Proved Fermat's Last Theorem after a few reviews and rewrites.]]> 2022-04-10 05:25:38 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137796050 1977 - 2017 Maryam Mirzakhani flaviathen1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137798115 First woman to win the Field's Medal (2014). Her significant contribution in the geometry of Riemann Surfaces.]]> 2022-04-10 05:32:18 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137798115 1691-1716 The Calculus Wars kjeffrey12_1 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137806247 The argument between Leibniz and Newton over who discovered calculus. Great to bring up when discussing the two types of notation for calculus. Leads to academic integrity, and many ToK questions.]]> 2022-04-10 05:57:31 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137806247 275 - 195 BC Eratosthenes of Cyrene - Greece https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137810769 He calculated the circumference of the Earth, measured the tilt of the Earth’s axis of rotation, estimated the distance to the sun and created some of the first maps of the world. He also invented the “Sieve of Eratosthenes “, an efficient way to calculate prime numbers]]> 2022-04-10 06:12:31 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137810769 1802-1829 Niels Henrik Abel - Norway https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137811415
- proved the binomial theorem.
- group theory
- Abelian functions


]]> 2022-04-10 06:14:36 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137811415 1882- 1935 Emmy Noether malcolm_drew2 https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137815022 Amazing contributions to symmetry, rings, group theory, and gauge theory.]]> 2022-04-10 06:24:43 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137815022 1887-1920 Srinivasa Ramanujan https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137816757 A genius, mathematician who did not receive any formal Maths training. Gave almost 4000 equations and identities during his short life. Some are not proven until recently and are found very useful in different fields in modern science.]]> 2022-04-10 06:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/malcolm_drew2/h8x5om7d4nzd4vw0/wish/2137816757