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* ca. ] to ]&nbsp;– Africa and France, earliest known ] attempts to quantify time (see ]).<ref>, ], </ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/lebombo.html|title=OLDEST Mathematical Object is in Swaziland|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/ishango.html|title=an old Mathematical Object|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref> * ca. ] to ]&nbsp;– Africa and France, earliest known ] attempts to quantify time (see ]).<ref>, ], </ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/lebombo.html|title=OLDEST Mathematical Object is in Swaziland|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/ishango.html|title=an old Mathematical Object|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref>
* c. 20,000 BC&nbsp;– ], ]: possibly the earliest reference to ]s and ]. * c. 20,000 BC&nbsp;– ], ]: possibly the earliest reference to ]s and ].
* c. 3400 BC&nbsp;– ], the ]ians invent the first ], and a system of ]. * c. 3400 BC&nbsp;– ], the ]ians invent the first ], and a system of ].
* c. 3100 BC&nbsp;– ], earliest known ] allows indefinite counting by way of introducing new symbols.<ref name="buffalo1">{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/mad_ancient_egyptpapyrus.html#berlin.|title=Egyptian Mathematical Papyri - Mathematicians of the African Diaspora|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref> * c. 3100 BC&nbsp;– ], earliest known ] allows indefinite counting by way of introducing new symbols.<ref name="buffalo1">{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/mad_ancient_egyptpapyrus.html#berlin.|title=Egyptian Mathematical Papyri - Mathematicians of the African Diaspora|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}</ref>
* c. 2800 BC&nbsp;– ] on the ], earliest use of decimal ratios in a uniform system of ], the smallest unit of measurement used is 1.704 millimetres and the smallest unit of mass used is 28&nbsp;grams. * c. 2800 BC&nbsp;– ] on the ], earliest use of decimal ratios in a uniform system of ], the smallest unit of measurement used is 1.704 millimetres and the smallest unit of mass used is 28&nbsp;grams.
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* c. 2000 BC&nbsp;– Mesopotamia, the ] use a base-60 positional numeral system, and compute the first known approximate value of ] at 3.125. * c. 2000 BC&nbsp;– Mesopotamia, the ] use a base-60 positional numeral system, and compute the first known approximate value of ] at 3.125.
* c. 2000 BC&nbsp;– Scotland, ] exhibit a variety of symmetries including all of the symmetries of ]s, though it is not known if this was deliberate. * c. 2000 BC&nbsp;– Scotland, ] exhibit a variety of symmetries including all of the symmetries of ]s, though it is not known if this was deliberate.
* c. 1800 BC&nbsp;– The ] Babylonian tablet records the oldest known examples of ]s.<ref>{{citation |last=Joyce |first=David E.|author-link=David E. Joyce (mathematician) |year=1995 |title=Plimpton 322 |url=http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/plimpnote.html}} and {{citation |last=Maor |first=Eli |year=1993 |title=Trigonometric Delights |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-09541-7 |chapter=Plimpton 322: The Earliest Trigonometric Table? |chapter-url=http://press.princeton.edu/titles/6287.html |accessdate=November 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |pages=30–34 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100805230810/http://press.princeton.edu/titles/6287.html |archivedate=5 August 2010}}</ref>
* 1800 BC&nbsp;– Egypt, ], finding the volume of a ]. * 1800 BC&nbsp;– Egypt, ], finding the volume of a ].
* c. 1800 BC&nbsp;– ] (Egypt, 19th dynasty) contains a quadratic equation and its solution.<ref name="buffalo1"/> * c. 1800 BC&nbsp;– ] (Egypt, 19th dynasty) contains a quadratic equation and its solution.<ref name="buffalo1"/>
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===1st millennium BC=== ===1st millennium BC===
* c. 1000 BC&nbsp;– ]s used by the ]. However, only unit fractions are used (i.e., those with 1 as the numerator) and ] tables are used to approximate the values of the other fractions.<ref>Carl B. Boyer, ''A History of Mathematics'', 2nd Ed.</ref> * c. 1000 BC&nbsp;– ]s used by the ]. However, only unit fractions are used (i.e., those with 1 as the numerator) and ] tables are used to approximate the values of the other fractions.<ref>Carl B. Boyer, ''A History of Mathematics'', 2nd Ed.</ref>
* first half of 1st millennium BC&nbsp;– ]&nbsp;– ], in his ], describes the motions of the Sun and the Moon, and advances a 95-year cycle to synchronize the motions of the Sun and the Moon. * first half of 1st millennium BC&nbsp;– ]&nbsp;– ], in his ], describes the motions of the Sun and the Moon, and advances a ] to synchronize the motions of the Sun and the Moon.
* 800 BC&nbsp;– ], author of the Baudhayana ], a ] geometric text, contains ]s, and calculates the ] correctly to five decimal places. * c. 800 BC&nbsp;– ], author of the Baudhayana ], a ] geometric text, contains ]s, calculates the ] correctly to five decimal places, and contains "the earliest extant verbal expression of the Pythagorean Theorem in the world, although it had already been known to the Old Babylonians."<ref>*{{cite book| last1=Hayashi| first1=Takao| year=1995| title=The Bakhshali Manuscript, An ancient Indian mathematical treatise| publisher=Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 596 pages| isbn=90-6980-087-X|page=363}}</ref>
* c. 8th century BC&nbsp;– the ], one of the four ] ], contains the earliest concept of ], and states "if you remove a part from infinity or add a part to infinity, still what remains is infinity." * c. 8th century BC&nbsp;– the ], one of the four ] ], contains the earliest concept of ], and states "if you remove a part from infinity or add a part to infinity, still what remains is infinity."
* 1046 BC to 256 BC&nbsp;– China, '']'', arithmetic, geometric algorithms, and proofs. * 1046 BC to 256 BC&nbsp;– China, '']'', arithmetic, geometric algorithms, and proofs.
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* 335 – 405– Greece, ] * 335 – 405– Greece, ]
* c. 340&nbsp;– Greece, ] states his ] and his ]. * c. 340&nbsp;– Greece, ] states his ] and his ].
* 350 – 415 – Byzantine Empire, ] * 350 – 415 – Eastern Roman Empire, ]
* c. 400&nbsp;– India, the ] , which describes a theory of the infinite containing different levels of ], shows an understanding of ], as well as ] to ], and computes ] of numbers as large as a million correct to at least 11 decimal places. * c. 400&nbsp;– India, the ], which describes a theory of the infinite containing different levels of ], shows an understanding of ], as well as ] to ], and computes ] of numbers as large as a million correct to at least 11 decimal places.
* 300 to 500&nbsp;– the ] is developed by ]. * 300 to 500&nbsp;– the ] is developed by ].
* 300 to 500&nbsp;– China, a description of ] is written by ]. * 300 to 500&nbsp;– China, a description of ] is written by ].
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* 1020&nbsp;– ] gave the formula: sin (α + β) = sin α cos β + sin β cos α. Also discussed the quadrature of the ] and the volume of the ]. * 1020&nbsp;– ] gave the formula: sin (α + β) = sin α cos β + sin β cos α. Also discussed the quadrature of the ] and the volume of the ].
* 1021&nbsp;– ] formulated and solved ] geometrically. * 1021&nbsp;– ] formulated and solved ] geometrically.
* 1030&nbsp;– ] writes a treatise on the ] and ] number systems. His arithmetic explains the division of fractions and the extraction of square and cubic roots (square root of 57,342; cubic root of 3, 652, 296) in an almost modern manner.<ref>{{MacTutor|id=Al-Nasawi|title=Abu l'Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad Al-Nasawi}}</ref> * 1030&nbsp;– ] writes a treatise on the ] and ] number systems. His arithmetic explains the division of fractions and the extraction of square and cubic roots (square root of 57,342; cubic root of 3,652,296) in an almost modern manner.<ref>{{MacTutor|id=Al-Nasawi|title=Abu l'Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad Al-Nasawi}}</ref>
* 1070&nbsp;– ] begins to write ''Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra'' and classifies cubic equations. * 1070&nbsp;– ] begins to write ''Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra'' and classifies cubic equations.
* c. 1100&nbsp;– Omar Khayyám "gave a complete classification of ]s with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting ]s". He became the first to find general ] solutions of cubic equations and laid the foundations for the development of ] and ]. He also extracted ] using the decimal system (Hindu–Arabic numeral system). * c. 1100&nbsp;– Omar Khayyám "gave a complete classification of ]s with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting ]s". He became the first to find general ] solutions of cubic equations and laid the foundations for the development of ] and ]. He also extracted ] using the decimal system (Hindu–Arabic numeral system).
* 12th century&nbsp;– ] have been modified by Arab mathematicians to form the modern ] system . * 12th century&nbsp;– ] have been modified by Arab mathematicians to form the modern ] system.
* 12th century&nbsp;– the Arabic numeral system reaches Europe through the ]. * 12th century&nbsp;– the Arabic numeral system reaches Europe through the ].
* 12th century&nbsp;– ] writes the ], which covers the topics of definitions, arithmetical terms, interest computation, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, plane geometry, ], the shadow of the ], methods to solve indeterminate equations, and ]. * 12th century&nbsp;– ] writes the ], which covers the topics of definitions, arithmetical terms, interest computation, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, plane geometry, ], the shadow of the ], methods to solve indeterminate equations, and ].
* 12th century&nbsp;– ] (Bhaskara Acharya) writes the '']'' ('']''), which is the first text to recognize that a positive number has two square roots. Furthermore, it also gives the '']'' which was the first generalized solution of so called '']'' * 12th century&nbsp;– ] (Bhaskara Acharya) writes the '']'' ('']''), which is the first text to recognize that a positive number has two square roots. Furthermore, it also gives the '']'' which was the first generalized solution of so-called ''].''
* 12th century&nbsp;– Bhaskara Acharya develops preliminary concepts of ] , and also develops ], ], a proof for the ], proves that division by zero is infinity, computes ] to 5 decimal places, and calculates the time taken for the Earth to orbit the Sun to 9 decimal places. * 12th century&nbsp;– Bhaskara Acharya develops preliminary concepts of ], and also develops ], ], a proof for the ], proves that division by zero is infinity, computes ] to 5 decimal places, and calculates the time taken for the Earth to orbit the Sun to 9 decimal places.
* 1130&nbsp;– ] gave a definition of algebra: " with operating on unknowns using all the arithmetical tools, in the same way as the arithmetician operates on the known."<ref name=MacTutor/> * 1130&nbsp;– ] gave a definition of algebra: " with operating on unknowns using all the arithmetical tools, in the same way as the arithmetician operates on the known."<ref name=MacTutor/>
* 1135&nbsp;– ] followed al-Khayyam's application of algebra to geometry, and wrote a treatise on cubic equations that "represents an essential contribution to another algebra which aimed to study curves by means of equations, thus inaugurating the beginning of algebraic geometry".<ref name=MacTutor>, '']'', ], Scotland</ref> * 1135&nbsp;– ] followed al-Khayyam's application of algebra to geometry, and wrote a treatise on cubic equations that "represents an essential contribution to another algebra which aimed to study curves by means of equations, thus inaugurating the beginning of algebraic geometry."<ref name=MacTutor>, '']'', ], Scotland</ref>
* 1202&nbsp;– ] demonstrates the utility of ] in his ] (''Book of the Abacus''). * 1202&nbsp;– ] demonstrates the utility of ] in his ] (''Book of the Abacus'').
* 1247&nbsp;– ] publishes ''Shùshū Jiǔzhāng'' ('']''). * 1247&nbsp;– ] publishes ''Shùshū Jiǔzhāng'' ('']'').
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* 1260&nbsp;– ] gave a new proof of Thabit ibn Qurra's theorem, introducing important new ideas concerning ] and ] methods. He also gave the pair of amicable numbers 17296 and 18416 that have also been jointly attributed to ] as well as Thabit ibn Qurra.<ref name="Various AP Lists and Statistics"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728163824/http://amicable.homepage.dk/apstat.htm#discoverer |date=July 28, 2012 }}</ref> * 1260&nbsp;– ] gave a new proof of Thabit ibn Qurra's theorem, introducing important new ideas concerning ] and ] methods. He also gave the pair of amicable numbers 17296 and 18416 that have also been jointly attributed to ] as well as Thabit ibn Qurra.<ref name="Various AP Lists and Statistics"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728163824/http://amicable.homepage.dk/apstat.htm#discoverer |date=July 28, 2012 }}</ref>
* c. 1250&nbsp;– ] attempts to develop a form of non-Euclidean geometry. * c. 1250&nbsp;– ] attempts to develop a form of non-Euclidean geometry.
*1280 – Guo Shoujing and Wang Xun introduce cubic interpolation. *1280 – Guo Shoujing and Wang Xun use cubic interpolation for generating sine.
* 1303&nbsp;– ] publishes ''Precious Mirror of the Four Elements'', which contains an ancient method of arranging ]s in a triangle. * 1303&nbsp;– ] publishes ''Precious Mirror of the Four Elements'', which contains an ancient method of arranging ]s in a triangle.
*1356- ] completes his treatise ], which for the first time contains ], generalized fibonacci sequence, and the first ever algorithm to systematically generate all permutations as well as many new magic figure techniques. *1356- ] completes his treatise ], generalized fibonacci sequence, and the first ever algorithm to systematically generate all permutations as well as many new magic figure techniques.
* 14th century&nbsp;– ] discovers the ] expansion for <math>\sin x</math>, <math>\cos x</math>, <math>\arctan x</math> and <math>\pi/4</math> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Weisstein |first=Eric W. |title=Taylor Series |url=https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=mathworld.wolfram.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=August 1932 |title=The Taylor Series: an Introduction to the Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=130 |issue=3275 |pages=188 |doi=10.1038/130188b0 |bibcode=1932Natur.130R.188. |s2cid=4088442 |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free }}</ref> This theory is now well known in the Western world as the ] or infinite series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saeed |first=Mehreen |date=2021-08-19 |title=A Gentle Introduction to Taylor Series |url=https://machinelearningmastery.com/a-gentle-introduction-to-taylor-series/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Machine Learning Mastery |language=en-US}}</ref> * 14th century&nbsp;– ] discovers the ] expansion for <math>\sin x</math>, <math>\cos x</math>, <math>\arctan x</math> and <math>\pi/4</math> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Weisstein |first=Eric W. |title=Taylor Series |url=https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=mathworld.wolfram.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=August 1932 |title=The Taylor Series: an Introduction to the Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=130 |issue=3275 |pages=188 |doi=10.1038/130188b0 |bibcode=1932Natur.130R.188. |s2cid=4088442 |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free }}</ref> This theory is now well known in the Western world as the ] or infinite series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saeed |first=Mehreen |date=2021-08-19 |title=A Gentle Introduction to Taylor Series |url=https://machinelearningmastery.com/a-gentle-introduction-to-taylor-series/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Machine Learning Mastery |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 14th century&nbsp;– ], a Kerala school mathematician, presents a series form of the ] that is equivalent to its ] expansion, states the ] of differential calculus, and is also the first mathematician to give the radius of circle with inscribed ]. * 14th century&nbsp;– ], a Kerala school mathematician, presents a series form of the ] that is equivalent to its ] expansion, states the ] of differential calculus, and is also the first mathematician to give the radius of circle with inscribed ].
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====16th century==== ====16th century====
* 1501&nbsp;– ] writes the ]. * 1501&nbsp;– ] writes the ] which is the first treatment of all 10 cases in spherical trigonometry.
* 1520&nbsp;– ] develops a method for solving "depressed" cubic equations (cubic equations without an x<sup>2</sup> term), but does not publish. * 1520&nbsp;– ] develops a method for solving "depressed" cubic equations (cubic equations without an x<sup>2</sup> term), but does not publish.
* 1522&nbsp;– ] explained the use of Arabic digits and their advantages over Roman numerals. * 1522&nbsp;– ] explained the use of Arabic digits and their advantages over Roman numerals.
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* 1837&nbsp;– ] proves that doubling the cube and ] are impossible with only a compass and straightedge, as well as the full completion of the problem of constructability of regular polygons. * 1837&nbsp;– ] proves that doubling the cube and ] are impossible with only a compass and straightedge, as well as the full completion of the problem of constructability of regular polygons.
* 1837&nbsp;– ] develops ]. * 1837&nbsp;– ] develops ].
* 1838&nbsp;– First mention of ] in a paper by ]; later formalized by ]. Uniform convergence is required to fix ] erroneous “proof” that the ] of continuous functions is continuous from Cauchy’s 1821 ]. * 1838&nbsp;– First mention of ] in a paper by ]; later formalized by ]. Uniform convergence is required to fix ] erroneous “proof” that the ] of continuous functions is continuous from Cauchy's 1821 ].
* 1841&nbsp;– ] discovers but does not publish the ]. * 1841&nbsp;– ] discovers but does not publish the ].
* 1843&nbsp;– ] discovers and presents the Laurent expansion theorem. * 1843&nbsp;– ] discovers and presents the Laurent expansion theorem.
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* 1882&nbsp;– ] proves that π is transcendental and that therefore the circle cannot be squared with a compass and straightedge. * 1882&nbsp;– ] proves that π is transcendental and that therefore the circle cannot be squared with a compass and straightedge.
* 1882&nbsp;– Felix Klein invents the ]. * 1882&nbsp;– Felix Klein invents the ].
* 1888&nbsp;- ] publishes work on ], serving as the foundation for the modern theory of ].
* 1895&nbsp;– ] and ] derive the ] to describe the development of long solitary water waves in a canal of rectangular cross section. * 1895&nbsp;– ] and ] derive the ] to describe the development of long solitary water waves in a canal of rectangular cross section.
* 1895&nbsp;– Georg Cantor publishes a book about set theory containing the arithmetic of infinite ]s and the ]. * 1895&nbsp;– Georg Cantor publishes a book about set theory containing the arithmetic of infinite ]s and the ].
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* 1901&nbsp;– ] develops the ]. * 1901&nbsp;– ] develops the ].
* 1901&nbsp;– ] publishes on ]. * 1901&nbsp;– ] publishes on ].
* 1903&nbsp;– ] presents a ] algorithm{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}
* 1903&nbsp;– ] gives considerably simpler proof of the prime number theorem. * 1903&nbsp;– ] gives considerably simpler proof of the prime number theorem.
* 1908&nbsp;– ] axiomizes ], thus avoiding Cantor's contradictions. * 1908&nbsp;– ] axiomizes ], thus avoiding Cantor's contradictions.
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* 1931&nbsp;– ] proves ], which shows that every axiomatic system for mathematics is either incomplete or inconsistent. * 1931&nbsp;– ] proves ], which shows that every axiomatic system for mathematics is either incomplete or inconsistent.
* 1931&nbsp;– ] develops theorems in ] and ]es. * 1931&nbsp;– ] develops theorems in ] and ]es.
* 1932&nbsp;- ] brought the abstract study of ] to the broader mathematical community.
* 1933&nbsp;– ] and ] present the ]. * 1933&nbsp;– ] and ] present the ].
* 1933&nbsp;– ] publishes his book ''Basic notions of the calculus of probability'' (''Grundbegriffe der Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung''), which contains an ] based on ]. * 1933&nbsp;– ] publishes his book ''Basic notions of the calculus of probability'' (''Grundbegriffe der Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung''), which contains an ] based on ].
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* 1938&nbsp;– ] introduces ]. * 1938&nbsp;– ] introduces ].
* 1940&nbsp;– Kurt Gödel shows that neither the ] nor the ] can be disproven from the standard axioms of set theory. * 1940&nbsp;– Kurt Gödel shows that neither the ] nor the ] can be disproven from the standard axioms of set theory.
* 1941&nbsp;– ] defines the ].
* 1942&nbsp;– ] and ] develop a ] algorithm. * 1942&nbsp;– ] and ] develop a ] algorithm.
* 1943&nbsp;– ] proposes a method for nonlinear least squares fitting. * 1943&nbsp;– ] proposes a method for nonlinear least squares fitting.
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* 1947&nbsp;– ] publishes the ] for linear programming. * 1947&nbsp;– ] publishes the ] for linear programming.
* 1948&nbsp;– John von Neumann mathematically studies ]. * 1948&nbsp;– John von Neumann mathematically studies ].
* 1948&nbsp;- ] begins the study of ], the science of communication as it relates to living things and machines.
* 1948&nbsp;– ] and ] prove independently in an elementary way the ]. * 1948&nbsp;– ] and ] prove independently in an elementary way the ].
* 1949&nbsp;- ] proposed his famous conjectures.
* 1949&nbsp;– ] and L.R. Smith compute π to 2,037 decimal places using ]. * 1949&nbsp;– ] and L.R. Smith compute π to 2,037 decimal places using ].
* 1949&nbsp;– ] develops notion of ]. * 1949&nbsp;– ] develops notion of ].
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* 1959&nbsp;– ] creates ]. * 1959&nbsp;– ] creates ].
* 1960&nbsp;– ] invents the ] algorithm. * 1960&nbsp;– ] invents the ] algorithm.
* 1960&nbsp;- ] introduced the ] in his "A New Approach to Linear Filtering and Prediction Problems".
* 1960&nbsp;– ] and ] present the ]. * 1960&nbsp;– ] and ] present the ].
* 1961&nbsp;– ] and ] compute π to 100,000 decimal places using an inverse-tangent identity and an IBM-7090 computer. * 1961&nbsp;– ] and ] compute π to 100,000 decimal places using an inverse-tangent identity and an IBM-7090 computer.
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* 2014&nbsp;– Project Flyspeck<ref> Project Flyspeck, ].</ref> announces that it completed a proof of ].<ref> August 13, 2014 by Bob Yirk.</ref><ref>, 12 August 2014; ]. * 2014&nbsp;– Project Flyspeck<ref> Project Flyspeck, ].</ref> announces that it completed a proof of ].<ref> August 13, 2014 by Bob Yirk.</ref><ref>, 12 August 2014; ].
</ref><ref>, ].</ref><ref> ], 16:39, UK, Tuesday 12 August 2014.</ref> </ref><ref>, ].</ref><ref> ], 16:39, UK, Tuesday 12 August 2014.</ref>
* 2015&nbsp;– ] solves The ] ] . * 2015&nbsp;– ] solves the ] ].
* 2015&nbsp;– ] finds that a quasipolynomial complexity algorithm would solve the ]. * 2015&nbsp;– ] finds that a quasipolynomial complexity algorithm would solve the ].
* 2016&nbsp;– ] solves the ] problem in dimension 8. Subsequent work building on this leads to a solution for dimension 24. * 2016&nbsp;– ] solves the ] problem in dimension 8. Subsequent work building on this leads to a solution for dimension 24.
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{{Areas of mathematics}} {{Areas of mathematics}}
{{History of mathematics}}


] ]

Latest revision as of 02:55, 6 January 2025

This is a timeline of pure and applied mathematics history. It is divided here into three stages, corresponding to stages in the development of mathematical notation: a "rhetorical" stage in which calculations are described purely by words, a "syncopated" stage in which quantities and common algebraic operations are beginning to be represented by symbolic abbreviations, and finally a "symbolic" stage, in which comprehensive notational systems for formulas are the norm.

Rhetorical stage

Before 1000 BC

Syncopated stage

1st millennium BC

1st millennium AD

  • 1st century – Greece, Heron of Alexandria, Hero, the earliest, fleeting reference to square roots of negative numbers.
  • c 100 – Greece, Theon of Smyrna
  • 60 – 120 – Greece, Nicomachus
  • 70 – 140 – Greece, Menelaus of Alexandria Spherical trigonometry
  • 78 – 139 – China, Zhang Heng
  • c. 2nd century – Greece, Ptolemy of Alexandria wrote the Almagest.
  • 132 – 192 – China, Cai Yong
  • 240 – 300 – Greece, Sporus of Nicaea
  • 250 – Greece, Diophantus uses symbols for unknown numbers in terms of syncopated algebra, and writes Arithmetica, one of the earliest treatises on algebra.
  • 263 – China, Liu Hui computes π using Liu Hui's π algorithm.
  • 300 – the earliest known use of zero as a decimal digit is introduced by Indian mathematicians.
  • 234 – 305 – Greece, Porphyry (philosopher)
  • 300 – 360 – Greece, Serenus of Antinoöpolis
  • 335 – 405– Greece, Theon of Alexandria
  • c. 340 – Greece, Pappus of Alexandria states his hexagon theorem and his centroid theorem.
  • 350 – 415 – Eastern Roman Empire, Hypatia
  • c. 400 – India, the Bakhshali manuscript, which describes a theory of the infinite containing different levels of infinity, shows an understanding of indices, as well as logarithms to base 2, and computes square roots of numbers as large as a million correct to at least 11 decimal places.
  • 300 to 500 – the Chinese remainder theorem is developed by Sun Tzu.
  • 300 to 500 – China, a description of rod calculus is written by Sun Tzu.
  • 412 – 485 – Greece, Proclus
  • 420 – 480 – Greece, Domninus of Larissa
  • b 440 – Greece, Marinus of Neapolis "I wish everything was mathematics."
  • 450 – China, Zu Chongzhi computes π to seven decimal places. This calculation remains the most accurate calculation for π for close to a thousand years.
  • c. 474 – 558 – Greece, Anthemius of Tralles
  • 500 – India, Aryabhata writes the Aryabhata-Siddhanta, which first introduces the trigonometric functions and methods of calculating their approximate numerical values. It defines the concepts of sine and cosine, and also contains the earliest tables of sine and cosine values (in 3.75-degree intervals from 0 to 90 degrees).
  • 480 – 540 – Greece, Eutocius of Ascalon
  • 490 – 560 – Greece, Simplicius of Cilicia
  • 6th century – Aryabhata gives accurate calculations for astronomical constants, such as the solar eclipse and lunar eclipse, computes π to four decimal places, and obtains whole number solutions to linear equations by a method equivalent to the modern method.
  • 505 – 587 – India, Varāhamihira
  • 6th century – India, Yativṛṣabha
  • 535 – 566 – China, Zhen Luan
  • 550 – Hindu mathematicians give zero a numeral representation in the positional notation Indian numeral system.
  • 600 – China, Liu Zhuo uses quadratic interpolation.
  • 602 – 670 – China, Li Chunfeng
  • 625 China, Wang Xiaotong writes the Jigu Suanjing, where cubic and quartic equations are solved.
  • 7th century – India, Bhāskara I gives a rational approximation of the sine function.
  • 7th century – India, Brahmagupta invents the method of solving indeterminate equations of the second degree and is the first to use algebra to solve astronomical problems. He also develops methods for calculations of the motions and places of various planets, their rising and setting, conjunctions, and the calculation of eclipses of the sun and the moon.
  • 628 – Brahmagupta writes the Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta, where zero is clearly explained, and where the modern place-value Indian numeral system is fully developed. It also gives rules for manipulating both negative and positive numbers, methods for computing square roots, methods of solving linear and quadratic equations, and rules for summing series, Brahmagupta's identity, and the Brahmagupta theorem.
  • 721 – China, Zhang Sui (Yi Xing) computes the first tangent table.
  • 8th century – India, Virasena gives explicit rules for the Fibonacci sequence, gives the derivation of the volume of a frustum using an infinite procedure, and also deals with the logarithm to base 2 and knows its laws.
  • 8th century – India, Sridhara gives the rule for finding the volume of a sphere and also the formula for solving quadratic equations.
  • 773 – Iraq, Kanka brings Brahmagupta's Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta to Baghdad to explain the Indian system of arithmetic astronomy and the Indian numeral system.
  • 773 – Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Fazārī translates the Brahma-sphuta-siddhanta into Arabic upon the request of King Khalif Abbasid Al Mansoor.
  • 9th century – India, Govindasvāmi discovers the Newton-Gauss interpolation formula, and gives the fractional parts of Aryabhata's tabular sines.
  • 810 – The House of Wisdom is built in Baghdad for the translation of Greek and Sanskrit mathematical works into Arabic.
  • 820 – Al-Khwarizmi – Persian mathematician, father of algebra, writes the Al-Jabr, later transliterated as Algebra, which introduces systematic algebraic techniques for solving linear and quadratic equations. Translations of his book on arithmetic will introduce the Hindu–Arabic decimal number system to the Western world in the 12th century. The term algorithm is also named after him.
  • 820 – Iran, Al-Mahani conceived the idea of reducing geometrical problems such as doubling the cube to problems in algebra.
  • c. 850 – Iraq, al-Kindi pioneers cryptanalysis and frequency analysis in his book on cryptography.
  • c. 850 – India, Mahāvīra writes the Gaṇitasārasan̄graha otherwise known as the Ganita Sara Samgraha which gives systematic rules for expressing a fraction as the sum of unit fractions.
  • 895 – Syria, Thābit ibn Qurra: the only surviving fragment of his original work contains a chapter on the solution and properties of cubic equations. He also generalized the Pythagorean theorem, and discovered the theorem by which pairs of amicable numbers can be found, (i.e., two numbers such that each is the sum of the proper divisors of the other).
  • c. 900 – Egypt, Abu Kamil had begun to understand what we would write in symbols as x n x m = x m + n {\displaystyle x^{n}\cdot x^{m}=x^{m+n}}
  • 940 – Iran, Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani extracts roots using the Indian numeral system.
  • 953 – The arithmetic of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system at first required the use of a dust board (a sort of handheld blackboard) because "the methods required moving the numbers around in the calculation and rubbing some out as the calculation proceeded." Al-Uqlidisi modified these methods for pen and paper use. Eventually the advances enabled by the decimal system led to its standard use throughout the region and the world.
  • 953 – Persia, Al-Karaji is the "first person to completely free algebra from geometrical operations and to replace them with the arithmetical type of operations which are at the core of algebra today. He was first to define the monomials x {\displaystyle x} , x 2 {\displaystyle x^{2}} , x 3 {\displaystyle x^{3}} , ... and 1 / x {\displaystyle 1/x} , 1 / x 2 {\displaystyle 1/x^{2}} , 1 / x 3 {\displaystyle 1/x^{3}} , ... and to give rules for products of any two of these. He started a school of algebra which flourished for several hundreds of years". He also discovered the binomial theorem for integer exponents, which "was a major factor in the development of numerical analysis based on the decimal system".
  • 975 – Mesopotamia, al-Battani extended the Indian concepts of sine and cosine to other trigonometrical ratios, like tangent, secant and their inverse functions. Derived the formulae: sin α = tan α / 1 + tan 2 α {\displaystyle \sin \alpha =\tan \alpha /{\sqrt {1+\tan ^{2}\alpha }}} and cos α = 1 / 1 + tan 2 α {\displaystyle \cos \alpha =1/{\sqrt {1+\tan ^{2}\alpha }}} .

Symbolic stage

1000–1500

15th century

  • 1400 – Madhava discovers the series expansion for the inverse-tangent function, the infinite series for arctan and sin, and many methods for calculating the circumference of the circle, and uses them to compute π correct to 11 decimal places.
  • c. 1400 – Jamshid al-Kashi "contributed to the development of decimal fractions not only for approximating algebraic numbers, but also for real numbers such as π. His contribution to decimal fractions is so major that for many years he was considered as their inventor. Although not the first to do so, al-Kashi gave an algorithm for calculating nth roots, which is a special case of the methods given many centuries later by Ruffini and Horner." He is also the first to use the decimal point notation in arithmetic and Arabic numerals. His works include The Key of arithmetics, Discoveries in mathematics, The Decimal point, and The benefits of the zero. The contents of the Benefits of the Zero are an introduction followed by five essays: "On whole number arithmetic", "On fractional arithmetic", "On astrology", "On areas", and "On finding the unknowns ". He also wrote the Thesis on the sine and the chord and Thesis on finding the first degree sine.
  • 15th century – Ibn al-Banna' al-Marrakushi and Abu'l-Hasan ibn Ali al-Qalasadi introduced symbolic notation for algebra and for mathematics in general.
  • 15th century – Nilakantha Somayaji, a Kerala school mathematician, writes the Aryabhatiya Bhasya, which contains work on infinite-series expansions, problems of algebra, and spherical geometry.
  • 1424 – Ghiyath al-Kashi computes π to sixteen decimal places using inscribed and circumscribed polygons.
  • 1427 – Jamshid al-Kashi completes The Key to Arithmetic containing work of great depth on decimal fractions. It applies arithmetical and algebraic methods to the solution of various problems, including several geometric ones.
  • 1464 – Regiomontanus writes De Triangulis omnimodus which is one of the earliest texts to treat trigonometry as a separate branch of mathematics.
  • 1478 – An anonymous author writes the Treviso Arithmetic.
  • 1494 – Luca Pacioli writes Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalità; introduces primitive symbolic algebra using "co" (cosa) for the unknown.

Modern

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

Contemporary

20th century

21st century

See also

References

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  2. How Menstruation Created Mathematics, Tacoma Community College, (archive link).
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  14. ^ Arabic mathematics, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, Scotland
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  16. Weisstein, Eric W. "Taylor Series". mathworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  17. "The Taylor Series: an Introduction to the Theory of Functions of a Complex Variable". Nature. 130 (3275): 188. August 1932. Bibcode:1932Natur.130R.188.. doi:10.1038/130188b0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4088442.
  18. Saeed, Mehreen (August 19, 2021). "A Gentle Introduction to Taylor Series". Machine Learning Mastery. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  19. D'Alembert (1747) "Recherches sur la courbe que forme une corde tenduë mise en vibration" (Researches on the curve that a tense cord forms set into vibration), Histoire de l'académie royale des sciences et belles lettres de Berlin, vol. 3, pages 214-219.
  20. "Sophie Germain and FLT".
  21. Paul Benacerraf and Hilary Putnam, Cambridge University Press, Philosophy of Mathematics: Selected Readings, ISBN 0-521-29648-X
  22. Laumon, G.; Ngô, B. C. (2004), Le lemme fondamental pour les groupes unitaires, arXiv:math/0404454, Bibcode:2004math......4454L
  23. "UNH Mathematician's Proof Is Breakthrough Toward Centuries-Old Problem". University of New Hampshire. May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  24. Announcement of Completion. Project Flyspeck, Google Code.
  25. Team announces construction of a formal computer-verified proof of the Kepler conjecture. August 13, 2014 by Bob Yirk.
  26. Proof confirmed of 400-year-old fruit-stacking problem, 12 August 2014; New Scientist.
  27. A formal proof of the Kepler conjecture, arXiv.
  28. Solved: 400-Year-Old Maths Theory Finally Proven. Sky News, 16:39, UK, Tuesday 12 August 2014.

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