DOCUMENT RESUME ED 315 267 SE 051 136 AUTHOR Sworder, Steven C. TITLE Mathematician of the Day. A Birthday Party or Moment of Silence. PUB DATE 89 NOTE 22p. PUB TYPE Historical Materials (060) -- Reference Materials- Directories /Catalogs (132) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *College Mathematics; Community Colleges; Higher Education; Mathematical Enrichment; Mathematical Vocabulary; *Mathematicians; *Mathematics Materials; Secondary Education; *Secondary School Mathematics ABSTRACT The dates of birth and dealth of famous mathematicians and their major contributions to mathematics are described. Over 120 mathematicians are included. Six references are listed. (YP) Itr*,,M**t********t******k**,e****,V********A*******71*********Aw*******,.* Reproductions :.ipplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Mathematician of the Day A Birthday Party or Moment of Silence "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY U.S. DEPARTME14T OF EDUCATION by Office of Educational Research and Imoromment EDUCATIONAL. RESOURCES INFORMATION erC CENTER IERIC) Steven C. Sworder document has w en reproduced as /4received11 is from the person or organization Mathematics Department originating it C' Minor changes nave been made to improve Saddleback College reproduction Quasar TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Mission Viejo, California 92692 INFORMATION CENTER Pointe of id** or opinions sl dad in this docu (ERIC) . merit do not necessarily represent official OERI position or poury Do you need a little something to break astudent trance (Luring one of your more stimulating mathematics lectures?How about celebrating the birth or mourning thepassing of a famous mathematician? I have included a possible calendar forquick reference and arbitrarily assigned dates for choseabout whom we are not sure (B = born, D =died). Attached also is a list of a few things each mathematician had done that wouldbe understandable to at least some students from theremedial through the lower division college curriculum. It is not my intent to present all the accomplishments of thelisted mathematicians. The followir.g references are possible sources of moredetailed historical information: Bell, E.T., Men of Mathematics, Simon and Schuster,New York, 1965. Boyer, Carl B., pL _History of Mathematics, JohnWiley and Sons, New York, 1968. Cajori, Florian, A History of Matiemati Notations, Vol, I, Open Court Publishing Company, La Salle,Illinois, 1974. Debus, Allen G., Editor, World Who's Wbo in Science,Marquis-Who's Who, Inc, Chicago, Illinois, 1968. deCamp, Spargue L., Ihg_Lncient Engineers, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. iiialQ2aC21-__TSZaC2tilt....theMclthelUtiCs___ClassrQco, 31st Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,Washington, D.C. 1969. BEST COPY AVAILABLE C) Calendar of Mathematicians January March (continued) 1 Bernoulli, Johann (D) 10 Rahn, Johann (8) 4 Cramer, Gabriel (D) 11 Rheticus, Georges (B) 6 Cantor, George (D) 13 Appollonus (B) 6 Finck, Thomas (B) 15 Sylvester, James (D) 8 Galileo (D) 17 Bernoulli, Daniel (D) 9 Ptolemy (D) 18 DeMorgan, Augustus (D) 10 Legendre, Andrien (D) 18 LaHire, Philippe (B) 12 Fermat, Pierre (D) 20 Newton, Isaac (DD) ) 14Halley, Edmund (D) 21 Muir, Thomas ( 14Hermite, Charles (D) 21 Fourier, Jean (BD) ) 15Markov, Andrey D) 22 L'Hopital, Guillaume ( 17Adelard of Bath B) 24 Liouville, Joesph 20Bombelli, Raffaelo D) 26 Markov, Andrey 22 Eratosthenes (B) 27 Pierson, Karl (B) 24Wantzel, Pierre (D) 28 Laplace, Pierre (B) 25 Schwarz, Hermann (B) 30 Stevin, Simon (D) 25 Lagrange, Joesph (B) 31 Green, George (D) 26Briggs, Henry (D) 31 Descartes, Rene (B) 26 Cayley, Arthur (D) 28Recorde, Robert (B) April 29 Bernoulli, Daniel (B) 1 Archimedes (B) February 3 Pappus (B) 4 Napier, John (D) 1 Stokes, George (D) 6 Abel, Neils (D) 2 Ferrari, Ludovico (B) 8 Harriot, Thomas (B) 4 Wantzel, Pierre (B) 10 Lagrange, Joesph (D) 5 Galileo (B) 12 Lindemann, Ferdinand (B) 7 Hudde, Jan (B) 14 Hugyens, Christian (B) 9 Bolyai, Farkas (B) 15 Grassmann, Herman (B) 11 Descartes, Rene (D) 15 Euler, Leonhard (B) 12Maclaurin, Colin (B) 16 Hudde, Jan (D) 14 A1- Khwarizimi (D) 17 Bayes, Thomas (D) 16 Jordanus, Nemorarius (D) 19 Hipparchus (B) 18 Jacobi, Karl (B) 21 LaHire, Philippe 19Weierstrass, Karl(D) 21 Rolle, Michel D) 21 Briggs, Henry (B) 23 Bombelli, Rafae;lo (B ) 23Gauss, Karl 25 Poisson, Simeon (D) 24 Lobachevski 26 Finck, Thomas (D) 25 Pacioli, Luca (D) 26 Lambert, Johann (B) 27 Fibonacci (D) 27 Pierson, Karl (D) 29 Rudolf, Cristoff (D) 29 Napier, John (B) 30Gauss, Karl (B) March 1 Pell, John (B) 3 Cantor, George (B) 3 Hooke, Robert (D) 5 Laplace, Pierre (D) 5 Oughtred, William (B) 8 Goldback, Christian (B) May July (continued) 2 Gherardo of Cremona 14 Green, George (B) 4 Barrow, Issac 17 Hooke, Robert 6 Oresme, Nicole 18Argand, Jean g) 7 Clairaut, Alexis (:i 20 Riemann, Georg (D) 9 Widman, Johannes 21 Rudolf, Cristoff 10Monge, Gaspard 23 Reyes, Thomas iB)B) 12 Chuquet, Nicholas 25 Jordanus, Nemorarius (B) 14 Mascheroni, Lorenzo 27 Bernoulli, Johann (B) 14 Emerson, William 28 Monge, Gaspard 14 Simpson, Thomas 30Mascheroni, Lorenzo 16 Fourier, Jean (D) D 31 Cramer, Gabriel (B) 17 Clairaut, Alexis () 18Pappus 20 Emerson, William August 22 L'Hopital, Gilleume 23 Cauchy, Augustin 2 Girard, Albert 25 Pythagoras 4 Hamilton, William 26 DeMoivre, Abraham 6 Hippocrates 28 Archytus 8 Roberval, Gilles 30Gunter, Edmund 11 Archytus 31 Galois, Evarist 13 Argand, Jean 13 Stokes, George B 16 Bernoulli, Jakob June 16 Cayley, Arthur 1BB 17 Fermat, Pierre 2 Eudoxos ((BD) 18Taylor, Brook B 4 Varignon, Pierre 19 Pascal, Blaise (D) 5 Coates, Roger (D) 20DeWitt, Jan (D) 6 Regiomontanus 20Simpson, Thomas (B) 8 Hugyens, Christain ig; 23 Hipparchus 9 Rheticus, Georges 25 Abel, Neils 11 Barrow, Issac 25 Muir, Thomas 14Maclaurin, Colin (D) 27 Eratosthenes (D 16del Ferro, Scipione (B) 30 Ptolemy (B) 18 Pythagoras (B) 19 Pascal, Blaise (B) 21 Poisson, Simeon (B) September 22Thales (D) 24 Billingsley, Henry (B) 1 Mersenne, Marin (0) 26 Hippasos ) 2 Hamilton, William 27 DeMorgan, Augustus ((DD)B) 3 Sylvester, James 30 Oughtred, William ( 5 Saccheri, Girolamo igl 6 Viete, Francois 8 Liouville, Joseph D July 8 Mersenne, Marin 10 Girard, Albert 1 Leibnitz, Gottfried 13 Herigon, Pierre 3 Stevin, Simon 15 Hippasos 4 Grundi, Luigi 17 Riemann, Georg 6 Regiomontanus 18 Euler, Leonhard 8 Gherardo of Cremona 18 Legendre, Adrien 10Coates, Roger 20Cardano, Girolamo iB)D) 11 Oresme, Nicole 22 Archimedes (0) 13 Lindeminn, Ferdinand 24 Cardano, Girolamo (B) 4. September (continued) November (continued) 24 DeWitt, Jan 23Wallis, John 25 Lambert, Johann 25Al-Khwarizimi 26 Grassmann, Herman 27 DeMoivre, Abraham 26Mobius, August 29 Wessel, Caspar 29 Fibonanci 30Cavalieri, Bonventura 30Schwarz, Hermann October December 2 Eudoxus 4 Thales i8 2 del Ferro, Scipione (D) 5 Bolzano, Berhard 4 Recorde, Robert D 5 Ferrari, Ludovico M 5 Stirling, James 7 Grandi, Luigi 7 Glaisher, James 9 Chuquet, Nicholas gi 8 Boole, George D 11 Lobachevski, Nikolai B) 10Gunter, Edmund 13 Gregory, James 10Jacobi, Karl 15Torricelli, Evangelista (13) 12 Pell, John 17 Rahn, Johann 13 Bolzano, Bernhard 18Babbage, Charles D) 13 Viete, Francois 19Widman, Johannes B) 14 Wessel, Caspar 21 Appollonus 1D) 16 Herigon, Pierre 23Hippocrates 18Tartaglia, Niccolo 25 Galois, Evarist ifl 19 Adelard of Bath D 25Saccheri, GirolLmo 22 Varigonon, Pierre 25Torricelli, Evangelista 24 Hermite, Charles tB 27 Roberval, Gilles ii0)))D) 25 Newton, Isaac 28Wallis, John (D) 26 Babbage, Charles 29 D'Alembert, Jean (0) 27 Bernoulli, Jakob (B) 31 Weierstrass, Karl (B) 27 Kepler, Johannes 29Taylor, Brook November 2 Boole, George 4 Gregory, James (B) 5 Glaisher, James 7 Stirling, James gi 8 Halley, Edmund 8 Rolle, Michel M 11 Cavalieri, Bonaventura 14 Leibilitz, Gottfried M 15 Kepler, Johannes 16 D'Alembert, Jean ii4 16 DeMoivre, Abraham 17 Mobius, August g3 19 Pacioli, Luca (B) 20Bolyai, Farkas 20Goldbach, Christian iSi 22 Billingsley, Henry (0) Abel, Niels (Norweigen)August 25, 1802 -- April 6, 1829 Proved that there is no general radical solution for fifth degree and higher equations. Gave the first general proof of the binomial theorem for arbitrary complex exponents. Investigated the convergence of Taylor series. Adelard of Bath (English)ca 1090 -- ca 1150 One of the earliest translators from Arabic to Latin.Made the first translation of Euclid's Elements into Latin from Arabic. Introduced Muslim trigonometry to the !WTI-1407E4 world with translations of Al-Khwarizimi's tables of astronomical calculations and sines. Used Arabic numbers which were later established by their acceptance by Fibonacci. Al-Khwarizimi (Arabian) ca 800 - ca 850 Wrote books on arithmetic and algebra. From the title of his algebra book, Al-labr Welmuqabalab, we derived the word algebra (i.e. al-jabr w.40 algebra). His arithmetic book gave a full account of the Hindu numerals and this is probably responsible for the notion that our numerals are of joint Hindu-Arabic origin. His notation came to be known as "that of Al- Khwarizimi" or "algorismi" or "algorithm" (and we now use this work to describe any particular rule or operation). Apollonius (Greek) ca 262 BC -- ca 190 BC First to show that all conics may be consideredsections of the same cone. Intro- duced the names: parabola, ellipse and hyperbola. Archimedes (Greek) ca 287 BC ca 212 BC Foremost mathematician of antiquity. Made extensive use of Eudoxos' method of exhaustion. He was killed in the Roman sack of Syracuse, Sicily. Archytus (Greek) ca 428 BC ca 347 BC Invented the pulley and screw. Intervened with the tyrant Dionysius to save Plato from execution. Wrote on applications of the arithmetic and geometric mean to music. Named the harmonic mean. He was a Pythagorean and gave a three dimen- sional solution for the problem of doubling a cube. Argand, Jean (Swiss) July 18,1768 -- August 13, 1822 Pioneer in the use of complexnumbers to show all algebraic equations have roots. Introduced the teem "modulus" and the Argand diagrams are named for him.