Timeline of mathematics

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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2015}}

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=

  • ca. 70,000 BC – South Africa, ochre rocks adorned with scratched geometric patterns (see Blombos Cave).[http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SU/caveart.html Art Prehistory], Sean Henahan, January 10, 2002. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719073344/http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SU/caveart.html |date=July 19, 2008 }}
  • ca. 35,000 BC to 20,000 BC – Africa and France, earliest known prehistoric attempts to quantify time (see Lebombo bone).[http://www.tacomacc.edu/home/jkellerm/Papers/Menses/Menses.htm How Menstruation Created Mathematics], Tacoma Community College, [https://web.archive.org/web/20051223112514/http://www.tacomacc.edu/home/jkellerm/Papers/Menses/Menses.htm (archive link).]{{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}}{{cite web|url=http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/Ancient-Africa/ishango.html|title=an old Mathematical Object|publisher=|accessdate=March 15, 2015}}
  • c. 20,000 BC – Nile Valley, Ishango bone: possibly the earliest reference to prime numbers and Egyptian multiplication.
  • c. 3400 BC – Mesopotamia, the Sumerians invent the first numeral system, and a system of weights and measures.
  • c. 3100 BC – Egypt, earliest known decimal system allows indefinite counting by way of introducing new symbols.{{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}}
  • c. 2800 BC – Indus Valley Civilisation on the Indian subcontinent, earliest use of decimal ratios in a uniform system of ancient weights and measures, the smallest unit of measurement used is 1.704 millimetres and the smallest unit of mass used is 28 grams.
  • 2700 BC – Egypt, precision surveying.
  • 2400 BC – Egypt, precise astronomical calendar, used even in the Middle Ages for its mathematical regularity.
  • c. 2000 BC – Mesopotamia, the Babylonians use a base-60 positional numeral system, and compute the first known approximate value of π at 3.125.
  • c. 2000 BC – Scotland, carved stone balls exhibit a variety of symmetries including all of the symmetries of Platonic solids, though it is not known if this was deliberate.
  • c. 1800 BC – The Plimpton 322 Babylonian tablet records the oldest known examples of Pythagorean triples.{{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}}
  • 1800 BC – Egypt, Moscow Mathematical Papyrus, finding the volume of a frustum.
  • c. 1800 BC – Berlin Papyrus 6619 (Egypt, 19th dynasty) contains a quadratic equation and its solution.
  • 1650 BC – Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, copy of a lost scroll from around 1850 BC, the scribe Ahmes presents one of the first known approximate values of π at 3.16, the first attempt at squaring the circle, earliest known use of a sort of cotangent, and knowledge of solving first order linear equations.
  • The earliest recorded use of combinatorial techniques comes from problem 79 of the Rhind papyrus which dates to the 16th century BCE.{{cite book

| last = Biggs

| first = Norman

|author2=Keith Lloyd |author3=Robin Wilson

| editor = Ronald Graham |editor2=Martin Grötschel | editor2-link = Martin Grötschel |editor3=László Lovász

| title = Handbook of Combinatorics

| year = 1995

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kfiv_-l2KyQC

| format = Google book

| access-date = 2008-03-08

| publisher = MIT Press

| isbn = 0-262-57172-2

| pages = 2163–2188

| chapter = 44

}}

Syncopated stage

=1st millennium BC=

=1st millennium AD=

Symbolic stage

=1000–1500=

  • c. 1000 – Abu Sahl al-Quhi (Kuhi) solves polynomial equations higher than the second degree.
  • c. 1000 – Abu-Mahmud Khujandi first states a special case of Fermat's Last Theorem.
  • c. 1000 – Law of sines is discovered by Muslim mathematicians, but it is uncertain who discovers it first between Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi, Abu Nasr Mansur, and Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani.
  • c. 1000 – Pope Sylvester II introduces the abacus using the Hindu–Arabic numeral system to Europe.
  • 1000 – Al-Karaji writes a book containing the first known proofs by mathematical induction. He used it to prove the binomial theorem, Pascal's triangle, and the sum of integral cubes.Victor J. Katz (1998). History of Mathematics: An Introduction, p. 255–259. Addison-Wesley. {{isbn|0-321-01618-1}}. He was "the first who introduced the theory of algebraic calculus".F. Woepcke (1853). Extrait du Fakhri, traité d'Algèbre par Abou Bekr Mohammed Ben Alhacan Alkarkhi. Paris.
  • c. 1000 – Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi studied a slight variant of Thābit ibn Qurra's theorem on amicable numbers, and he also made improvements on the decimal system.
  • 1020 – Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani gave the formula: sin (α + β) = sin α cos β + sin β cos α. Also discussed the quadrature of the parabola and the volume of the paraboloid.
  • 1021 – Ibn al-Haytham formulated and solved Alhazen's problem geometrically.
  • 1030 – Alī ibn Ahmad al-Nasawī writes a treatise on the decimal and sexagesimal 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.{{MacTutor|id=Al-Nasawi|title=Abu l'Hasan Ali ibn Ahmad Al-Nasawi}}
  • 1070 – Omar Khayyam begins to write Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra and classifies cubic equations.
  • c. 1100 – Omar Khayyám "gave a complete classification of cubic equations with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting conic sections". He became the first to find general geometric solutions of cubic equations and laid the foundations for the development of analytic geometry and non-Euclidean geometry. He also extracted roots using the decimal system (Hindu–Arabic numeral system).
  • 12th century – Indian numerals have been modified by Arab mathematicians to form the modern Arabic numeral system.
  • 12th century – the Arabic numeral system reaches Europe through the Arabs.
  • 12th century – Bhaskara Acharya writes the Lilavati, which covers the topics of definitions, arithmetical terms, interest computation, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, plane geometry, solid geometry, the shadow of the gnomon, methods to solve indeterminate equations, and combinations.
  • 12th century – Bhāskara II (Bhaskara Acharya) writes the Bijaganita (Algebra), which is the first text to recognize that a positive number has two square roots. Furthermore, it also gives the Chakravala method which was the first generalized solution of so-called Pell's equation.
  • 12th century – Bhaskara Acharya develops preliminary concepts of differentiation, and also develops Rolle's theorem, Pell's equation, a proof for the Pythagorean theorem, proves that division by zero is infinity, computes π to 5 decimal places, and calculates the time taken for the Earth to orbit the Sun to 9 decimal places.
  • 1130 – Al-Samawal al-Maghribi gave a definition of algebra: "[it is concerned] with operating on unknowns using all the arithmetical tools, in the same way as the arithmetician operates on the known."
  • 1135 – Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi 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."[http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Arabic_mathematics.html Arabic mathematics], MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • 1202 – Leonardo Fibonacci demonstrates the utility of Hindu–Arabic numerals in his Liber Abaci (Book of the Abacus).
  • 1247 – Qin Jiushao publishes Shùshū Jiǔzhāng (Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections).
  • 1248 – Li Ye writes Ceyuan haijing, a 12 volume mathematical treatise containing 170 formulas and 696 problems mostly solved by polynomial equations using the method tian yuan shu.
  • 1260 – Al-Farisi gave a new proof of Thabit ibn Qurra's theorem, introducing important new ideas concerning factorization and combinatorial methods. He also gave the pair of amicable numbers 17296 and 18416 that have also been jointly attributed to Fermat as well as Thabit ibn Qurra.[http://amicable.homepage.dk/apstat.htm#discoverer Various AP Lists and Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728163824/http://amicable.homepage.dk/apstat.htm#discoverer |date=July 28, 2012 }}
  • c. 1250 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi attempts to develop a form of non-Euclidean geometry.
  • 1280 – Guo Shoujing and Wang Xun use cubic interpolation for generating sine.
  • 1303 – Zhu Shijie publishes Jade Mirror of the Four Unknowns, which contains an ancient method of arranging binomial coefficients in a triangle.
  • 1356- Narayana Pandita completes his treatise Ganita Kaumudi, generalized Fibonacci sequence, and the first ever algorithm to systematically generate all permutations as well as many new magic figure techniques.
  • 14th century – Madhava discovers the power series expansion for \sin x, \cos x, \arctan x and \pi/4 {{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}}{{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 }} This theory is now well known in the Western world as the Taylor series or infinite series.{{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}}
  • 14th century – Parameshvara Nambudiri, a Kerala school mathematician, presents a series form of the sine function that is equivalent to its Taylor series expansion, states the mean value theorem of differential calculus, and is also the first mathematician to give the radius of circle with inscribed cyclic quadrilateral.

==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 [Paolo] Ruffini and [William George] 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 [unknown variables]". 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 – Jamshid 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==

Paul Benacerraf and Hilary Putnam, Cambridge University Press, Philosophy of Mathematics: Selected Readings, {{isbn|0-521-29648-X}}

==21st century==

[https://arxiv.org/abs/1501.02155 A formal proof of the Kepler conjecture], arXiv.[http://pnews.sky.com/story/1317501/solved-400-year-old-maths-theory-finally-proven Solved: 400-Year-Old Maths Theory Finally Proven.] Sky News, 16:39, UK, Tuesday 12 August 2014.

  • 2015 – Terence Tao solves the Erdős discrepancy problem.
  • 2015 – László Babai finds that a quasipolynomial complexity algorithm would solve the Graph isomorphism problem.
  • 2016 – Maryna Viazovska solves the sphere packing problem in dimension 8. Subsequent work building on this leads to a solution for dimension 24.
  • 2023 – Elia Bruè, Aaron Naber, and Daniele Semola disprove the Milnor conjecture for six or more dimensions. {{cite news |last1=Cepelewicz |first1=Jordana |title=Strangely Curved Shapes Break 50-Year-Old Geometry Conjecture |url=https://www.quantamagazine.org/strangely-curved-shapes-break-50-year-old-geometry-conjecture-20240514/ |access-date=12 January 2025 |work=Quanta Magazine |date=May 14, 2024}}{{cite arXiv |last1=Bruè |first1=Elia |last2=Naber |first2=Aaron |last3=Semola |first3=Daniele |date=2023 |title=Six dimensional counterexample to the Milnor Conjecture |class=math.DG |eprint=2311.12155}}

See also

{{portal|Mathematics}}

References

{{reflist}}

  • David Eugene Smith, 1929 and 1959, A Source Book in Mathematics, Dover Publications. {{isbn|0-486-64690-4}}.