Math Timeline

Beginning of time

The Egyptian god Thoth was considered by the Greeks to be the inventor of Mathematics. Some description of him is found in the Pre-science Emerald Tablets of Thoth.

37,000BCE

Concrete numeration is said to have begun in the form of notched bones

6000 B.C

Use of tokens has spread throughout the region

3300 BCE

Symbolic numeration began in the form of Sumerian cuneiform. Numbers appealed in written representation in clay tablets.

2000B.C

Early Concept of Pi

Although it was not officially called “Pi” as this time, Jewish scholars first estimated it to be close to 3 times the diameter of a circle.

2000 B.C

Construction of Pyramids demonstrate knowledge of surveying and geometry.

Egyptians and Babylonians had developed a numeric system

1800 B.C

The 1st instance of Quadratic Equations occurred.

1700 BC

The Rhind Papyrus

The first math book has problems in geometry, arithmetic, fractions, and sequences. It also included an approximation for Pi. There are 85 problems.

Greek Era Begins!

570-475B.C

Pythagoras of Samos

was entranced by the properties of certain numbers, especially properties that appeared to be connected with geometric arrangements.

460-370B.C

Democritus of Abdera:

Enunciated

the proposition

that the volume of a cone

is 1/3 that of a cylinder with

the same base and height.

He gave this result 50 years

before it was ever proved!

325-265 B.C

Euclid: Produced the most influential

mathematics book ever written! The Element, contained proofs presented in a logical way, and was first printed in 1482.

The heart of basic geometry and number theory taught today!

"EUREKA!"

287 - 212B.C

Archimedes of Syracuse:

Best known for the world's most famous bath

during which he realized that overflow from the tub was proportional to the amount of his body that was submerged.

Produced a variety

of war machines for the Syracuse King.

Credited with developing

the pulley and lever system as well as

inventing integral calculus using the

theory of integration.

300B.C

The oldest surviving counting board is the Salamis tablet (originally thought to be a gaming board), used by the Babylonians circa 300 B.C., discovered in 1846 on the island of Salamis. It is a slab of white marble measuring 149cm in length, 75cm in width and 4.5cm thick, on which are 5 groups of markings.

0

250 A.D

Diophantus: Came up with the

1st systematic use of algebraic notation

using symbols for the unknown

85-165 A.D

Claudius Ptolemy: made astronomical calculations in the Egyptian city of Alexandria/

Ptolemic System: natural but wrong

idea of the earth as the center of the universe with the sun and other planets orbiting around it.

370 - 415 A.D

Hypatia of Alexandria

1st known woman who had an impact on Mathematics.

She studied under her father, Theon in Alexandria and assisted him on a 2 part commentary of Ptolemy's Atmagest.

She became head of the Philosophy school in Alexandria, which is regarded one of the greatest learning centers in the world!

-Known for famous sequence of numbers

Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci

1200A.D

The abacus as we know it today, appeared (was chronicled) circa 1200 A.D. in China; in Chinese, it is called suan-pan.

The evolution of the abacus can be divided into three ages: Ancient Times, Middle Ages, and Modern Times.

1323-1382A.D

Nicolas Oresme

Was the Bishop of the Norman

City of Lissieux

Introduced the "+" sign for addition

and extended the notation for powers to fractional and negative powers

Credited for discovering the Harmonic Sequence

1445-1517A.D

Luca Pacioli

-Lead a normal life

-Most famous for his book published in 1498

and provides a basis for major mathematical advances.

-Known as the Father of Accountancy

-His second book if concerned with the Golden Ration and was inspired by Fibonacci and his friend Leonardo da Vinci

1564-1642A.D

Galileo Galilei:

-Successful in mathematical studies

1589: Got chair of Mathematics at Pisa

1592: Granted a higher position

-Explored laws of Motion

-designed a pendulum clock

-developed a magnifying glass that allowed him to magnify objects 8-9 times the size!

1596-1650A.D

Rene Descartes

Modern founder of

Math and Philosophy

1st to start modern style notation

Basic idea to use axis to define all points

on a plane

1601-1665A.D

Fermat worked on differential calculus and is jointly credited with Pascal for founding the study of Probability!

Math was a hobby for Fermat

He made the link of applying algebra to Geometry through coordinate system leading to what we know of as Cartesian Geometry.

His greatest efforts were in Number Theory!

1638-1675A.D

James Gregory:

Invented the first practical reflecting telescope!

However it was never built in his

lifetime.

Gregory was interested in Optics and Telescopes and came up with the idea

of using both mirrors and lenses in his telescope design.

Basic design of all Binoculars and

Telescopes today!

1643-1727A.D

Sir Isaac Newton

1646-1716A.D

Gottfried Wilheim Leibniz

He was interested in Motion of a body, and temperature and Space.

Attended college when he was 15 years old!!!

His notation of Calculus is commonly used today.

He is also credited with equal contribution to the invention of Calculus, along With Newton.

1777-1858A.D

Carl Gauss

1815-1864A.D

George Boole

Considered to be the founder of Information Revolution thanks to his work in Algebra

Developed the key components that make up a Computer

1920A.D

Julia Set

Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia began the study of complex dynamical systems

1879-1950A.D

Albert Einstein

Made advancements by assuming that the speed of light remains constant and when he proved that mass and energy were equivalent.

Most famous contribution to mathematics and physics was the Theory of Relativity.

1954-

Andrew John Wiles

known as the man who proved Fermat's Last Theorem through an Elliptic Curve on September 19th, 1994

1955

Milton Sirotta was the 9 year old nephew of Edward Kasner, the mathematician, and coined the term googol for a 1 followed by 100 zeros.

1960

The first solid state electronic calculator was created in the 1960s, building on the extensive history of tools such as the abacus, developed around 2000 BC

They became popular in the mid-1970s as integrated circuits made their size and cost small. By the end of that decade, calculator prices had reduced to a point where a basic calculator was affordable to most and they became common in schools.

1983

2004

In 2004, Dr. Tao, solved a problem related to the Twin Prime Conjecture by looking at prime number progressions

Dr. Tao

He proved that it is always possible to find, somewhere in the infinity of integers, a progression of prime numbers of any length.

Sum of the reciprocals of the whole numbers

Led to Pythagoras theorem which holds

many different proofs, showing that the sum of a triangle, is equal to 2 right angles.

Newton studied law at Cambridge University

1687 - published his famous book Principia Mathematicia.

His schooling ceased however due to a plague!

He invented Calculus, but did not publish his work until after Leibniz. This led to much tensionn and controversy.

His book gave him many answers such as how law of gravity has been fundamental to science, or how the Solar System behaved.

3300 BCE: Symbolic numeration began in the form of the Sumerian cuneiform. Numbers appeared in written representation in clay tablets.

Interested in the study of Logic and Math, and the analogy of Logic and Algebra

Invented Heliotrope:

used a network of mirrors and a telescope to reflect the suns rays and create angles.

David Hoffman and William Meeks III discovered a brand new minimal surface, and were able to explore computor graphics

600 B.C

-Was born in Pisa

Google is now the name of a famous internet search engine.

-Was taught Arab Mathematics

- 1200 he wrote Liber Abaci

1170-1250A.D

"Math Timeline." Counton.org. N.p.. Web. 20 Oct 2012. <www.counton.org>.

. "TimeLine." Multicultural History of Mathematics. N.p.. Web. 20 Oct 2012. <www.oldmathgeek.org/mathHistoryMmilandin/timeline.htm>.