Wow! eBook
Robert Recorde: The Life and Times of a Tudor Mathematician
Author(s): Fenny Smith (Adapter), Gareth Ffowc Roberts (Adapter)
- Publisher: University of Wales Press
- Publication Date: 15 Sept. 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 320 pages
- ISBN-10: 0708325262
- ISBN-13: 9780708325261
Book Description
The inventor of the equals sign (=), Robert Recorde (1510?-1558) was the first English-writing mathematics educator: this book celebrates his work
Editorial Reviews
Review
Although best known for inventing the equals sign, Robert Recorde made many other significant contributions to the development of mathematics and science. As this book amply demonstrates, his writings made arithmetic, geometry, algebra, astronomy and ‘physick’ widely available in English to those for whom the classical texts of the scholar were inaccessible. It can be warmly recommended as a most welcome addition to the historical literature. –Robin Wilson, Pembroke College, Oxford University and President, British Society for the History of Mathematics
“Drawing on a wide array of archival and documentary sources, the authors of this collection of highly readable essays shine a bright light on the life and work of the Tudor mathematics educator Robert Recorde, the man best known for having invented the equals sign. It is a fascinating read for those interested in the Tudor period, the history of science and the history of mathematics, and it will ensure that Recorde is remembered for much more than just the invention of a mathematical symbol.” –June Barrow-Green, The Open University
About the Author
Fenny Smith is an independent scholar in Italian Renaissance algebra, with associated knowledge of ancient and medieval numerical notation and arithmetic techniques. Gareth Roberts is an Emeritus Professor of Education at Bangor University. He has particular interests in the acquisition of mathematical concepts within bilingual contexts.
