g made many of the earlier books widely available. By the end of the 16th cent. advances had been made in algebra by Niccolò TartagliaTartaglia, Niccolò
, c.1500–1557, Italian engineer and mathematician. Largely self-educated, he taught mathematics at Verona, Brescia, and Venice. A pioneer in applying mathematics to artillery, he recorded his results in Della nova scientia (1537).
..... Click the link for more information. and Girolamo CardanoCardano, Girolamo or Geronimo
, 1501–76, Italian physician and mathematician. His works on arithmetic and algebra established his reputation.
..... Click the link for more information. , in trigonometry by François VièteViète or Vieta, François
, 1540–1603, French mathematician. As a founder of modern algebra, he introduced the use of letters as algebraic symbols and correlated algebra with geometry and trigonometry.
..... Click the link for more information. , and in such areas of applied mathematics as mapmaking by Mercator and others.
The 17th cent., however, saw the greatest revolution in mathematics, as the scientific revolution spread to all fields. Decimal fractions were invented by Simon StevinStevin, Simon
, 1548–1620, Dutch engineer and mathematician. His experiments in hydrostatics showed that the pressure exerted by a liquid is dependent only on its vertical height and not on the shape of the liquid's container, and demonstrated the principle of the
..... Click the link for more information. and logarithms by John NapierNapier, John
, 1550–1617, Scottish mathematician and theologian. He invented logarithms and wrote Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio (1614), containing the first logarithmic table and the first use of the word logarithm.
..... Click the link for more information. and Henry BriggsBriggs, Henry,
1561–1630, English mathematician. He was the first professor of geometry at Gresham College, London (1596–1619), and Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford (from 1619).
..... Click the link for more information. ; the beginnings of projective geometry were made by Gérard DesarguesDesargues, Gérard
, 1591–1661, French mathematician and engineer, a founder of modern geometry. He discovered the theorems on involutions and transversals known by his name and worked on conic sections. His writings, lost for a time, were republished in 1864.
..... Click the link for more information. and Blaise PascalPascal, Blaise
, 1623–62, French scientist and religious philosopher. Studying under the direction of his father, a civil servant, Pascal showed great precocity, especially in mathematics and science.
..... Click the link for more information. ; number theory was greatly extended by Pierre de FermatFermat, Pierre de
, 1601–65, French mathematician. A magistrate whose avocation was mathematics, Fermat is known as a founder of modern number theory and probability theory.
..... Click the link for more information. ; and the theory of probability was founded by Pascal, Fermat, and others. In the application of mathematics to mechanics and astronomy, GalileoGalileo
(Galileo Galilei) , 1564–1642, great Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist. By his persistent investigation of natural laws he laid foundations for modern experimental science, and by the construction of astronomical telescopes he greatly enlarged
..... Click the link for more information. and Johannes KeplerKepler, Johannes
, 1571–1630, German astronomer. From his student days at the Univ. of Tübingen, he was influenced by the Copernican teachings. From 1593 to 1598 he was professor of mathematics at Graz and while there wrote his Mysterium cosmographicum (1596).
..... Click the link for more information. made fundamental contributions.
The greatest mathematical advances of the 17th cent., however, were the invention of analytic geometry by René DescartesDescartes, René
, Lat. Renatus Cartesius, 1596–1650, French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist, b. La Haye. Descartes' methodology was a major influence in the transition from medieval science and philosophy to the modern era.
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