In addition to the Greek mathematicians listed above, a number of other ancient Greeks made an indelible mark on the history of mathematics, including Archimedes, most famous for the Archimedes' principle around the buoyant force Apollonius, who did important work with parabolas Diophantus, the first Greek mathematician to recognize fractions as numbers Pappus, known for his hexagon theorem and Euclid, who first described the golden ratio.

Donald Allen, professor of Mathematics at Texas A&M University in his paper, ' The Origins of Greek Mathematics (opens in new tab)': Greek mathematicians were divided into several schools, as outlined by G. Harper, author of the ' Online Etymology Dictionary (opens in new tab).' The ancient Greeks built on other ancient civilizations’ mathematical studies, and they developed the model of abstract mathematics through geometry. The word mathematics comes from the ancient Greeks and is derived from the word máthēma, meaning 'that which is learnt,' according to Douglas R. With origins in the construction of shape, number theory looks at figurate numbers, the characterization of numbers, and theorems. Apostol, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, wrote in ' Introduction to Analytic Number Theory (opens in new tab)' (Springer, 1976). Mathematicians in ancient times also began to look at number theory, which 'deals with properties of the whole numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …,' Tom M. The study of algebra meant mathematicians could solve linear equations and systems, as well as quadratics, and delve into positive and negative solutions. Al-Khwārizmī also developed quick methods for multiplying and dividing numbers, which are known as algorithms - a corruption of his name, which in Latin was translated to Algorithmi.Īlgebra offered civilizations a way to divide inheritances and allocate resources. Hitti (opens in new tab), a history professor at Princeton and Harvard University. Persian mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī authored the earliest recorded work on algebra called 'The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing' around 820 A.D., according to Philip K.

(Image credit: Konstik) (opens in new tab) A statue of Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī that stands in Khiva, Uzbekistan.

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