HOW MATHEMATICS STARTED?

Mathematics starts with counting. It is not reasonable, however, to suggest that early counting
was mathematics. Only when some record of the counting was kept and, therefore, some
representation of numbers occurred can mathematics be said to have started. In Babylonia
mathematics developed from 2000 BC.

WHO INVENTED MATHEMATICS?

Mathematics isn't really an invention. It's really more of a discovery.

Mathematics encompasses many different types of studies, so its discovery can't even be
attributed to one person. Instead, mathematics developed slowly over thousands of years with the
help of thousands of people.

How did it get started? No one can know for sure, but we can use our imaginations to think about
how mathematics might have gotten its start. For example, if we go all the way back to
prehistoric humans gathering berries to eat, we can imagine how this basic task probably gave
rise for a need for math. If you and your prehistoric buddy gathered a basket full of berries, you'd
probably agree to split them evenly. First, you'd need to know how many berries you gathered.
That means you'd need to count them. You might first need to come up with names for the basic
units of measurement. Is this how counting and the first numbers came about? No one knows,
but you can see how this might be how it happened.

Similarly, division might have been born from the need to split that pile of berries evenly. How
advanced did prehistoric humans get with mathematics? Probably not far at all, but a need for
certain mathematical principles likely arose from daily life and, as such, were discovered or
created out of need rather than invented. Early learning eventually led to more advanced fields of
mathematics, such as algebra, geometry, calculus, and trigonometry.

Because many mathematical discoveries were made as a result of necessity, it comes as no

surprise that scientists believe that many basic mathematical functions, such as addition,
multiplication, and the like, appeared thousands of years ago in various areas at the same time,
including China, India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.

The oldest clay tablets with mathematics date back over 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. The
oldest written texts on mathematics are Egyptian papyruses. Since these are some of the oldest
societies on Earth, it makes sense that they would have been the first to discover the basics of
mathematics.

More advanced mathematics can be traced to ancient Greece over 2,500 years ago. Ancient
mathematician Pythagoras had questions about the sides of a right triangle. His questioning,
research, and testing led to a basic understanding of triangles we still study today, known as the
Pythagorean Theorem.

Most experts agree that it was around this time (2,500 years ago) in ancient Greece that
mathematics first became an organized science. Since that time, mathematical discoveries have
spurred other mathematicians and scientists to build upon the work of others, constantly
expanding our understanding of mathematics and its relation to the world around us.

15 FAMOUS MATHEMATICIANS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS

EUCLID

Euclid was one among the famous mathematicians, and he was known as the ‘Father of
Geometry.’ His famous Geometry contribution is referred to as the Euclidean geometry, which is
there in the Geometry chapter of class IX. He spent all his life working for mathematics and set a
revolutionary contribution to Geometry.

PYTHAGORAS

‘Pythagorean Theorem’ is very popular and an important mathematical formula to solve

mathematical problems. Since childhood, all of us have struggled to solve mathematical
problems applying the Pythagorean Theorem. Pythagoras discovered this prominent theorem and
he became the father of ‘Pythagorean Theorem.’ Pythagorean was from Greece, but he fled off to
India in the latter part of his life.

ARCHIMEDES

Archimedes was a Greek Scientist, a great mathematician, and a Physician. He also worked his
entire life in search of discovering mathematical formulas that are related to Physics.
Archimedes' best contribution of Archimedes in mathematics is known as the invention of
compound pulleys, antiquity, and screw pump. Students of class X have to study these chapters
of compound pulleys and antiquity.

THALES OF MILETUS

Thales of Miletus was one of the most famous mathematicians from Greece. He was very skilled
in Geometry and used Geometry as a means to calculate the heights of pyramids and measure the
distance of a ship from the shore. As he was also a philosopher, in the ‘Thales’ theorem’ he tries
to apply Geometry by using deductive reasoning and derives the conclusion of four corollaries.
You can learn more about Thales of Miletus here.

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle was a great scholar and he had vast knowledge in various areas, including Physics,
mathematics, geology, metaphysics, medicine, biology, and psychology. He was a student of
Plato, and both of them together discovered many philosophical theories and contributed to
mathematics and Platonism. He combines mathematics and philosophy and in his treaties, and
uses mathematical science in three principal ways.

DIOPHANTUS

His algebraic equations are quite easy and unique, so he was popularly known as the ‘Father of
Algebra.’ He wrote a series of books on Algebra. He later gained popularity for his book
Arithmetica, where a brief description with examples was given on the best solution for all the
algebraic equations and the theory related to the number.

ERATOSTHENES

Eratosthenes was a world-famous mathematician known for his unbelievable and exact
calculation. He was the only mathematician who put efforts to calculate the earth’s
circumference and calculated the Earth’s axis tilt. Both his calculations are exact, and so he
became famous worldwide.
HIPPARCHUS

Like Geometry, trigonometry chapters are also important for class IX and X students. The
founder of trigonometry was an intelligent mathematician and mythologist Hipparchus. He
discovered the first trigonometric table in mathematics. He was the first person to develop a
well-grounded process by which people can predict solar eclipses.

HERO OF ALEXANDRIA

Heron’s formula in mathematics is applied by students from class VI onwards. Yes, he was the
one who discovered the square root of numbers. In today’s mathematics, his formula is known as
Heron’s formula. So, he gained popularity and became known as the ‘Hero of Alexandria.’

PTOLEMY

Ptolemy was a mathematician; he was also a geographer, musician, writer, and astronomer. His
contributions to mathematics were incredible. He wrote about mathematics, and among them, his
best treatise was called Almagest. He also believed that in the Universe, the position of the Earth
was in the center.

XENOCRATES

Xenocrates was a famous mathematician from Greece. He had written a series of books on
mathematics. He emphasizes the theory of numbers in mathematics, and all his written books
were based on the theory of numbers, and geometry. He could easily calculate the syllables from
an alphabet.

ANAXAGORAS

He was a great mathematician and an astronomer. Because of his outstanding knowledge of

mathematics and cosmology, he discovered the exact clarification of eclipses and stated that the
Sun is larger than Peloponnese.
HYPATIA

She was a famous mathematician and a philosopher. She was the first woman to give importance
to mathematics. She was a genius, and for many young women, she became an inspiration and
encouraged them to pursue their dreams. In Alexandria's history, she was the last famous
mathematician.

ANTIPHON

Antiphon discovered the value of Pi. This renowned mathematician was the first one who
calculated the upper bound and lower bound values of Pi by inscribing and circumscribing
around a circle, the polygon, and processed finally to calculate the areas of the polygon. His idea
of calculating a polygon area became very famous, and it changed mathematics for the world.

DIOCLES

Diocles was a profound geometer and mathematician. He was renowned for his discovery in the
subdivision of geometry. In the books of Mathematics, the ‘Geometry curve’ is known by his
name as the ‘Cissoid of Diocles.’ To find out a solution to doubling the cube, the method of
Cissoid of Diocles was used.