This Web site provides a wealth of information about the history of mathematics, with a particular strength in putting a human face on the creation of mathematics over the centuries and in different civilizations. Perhaps the hallmark of the Web site is its comprehensive collection of biographies of over 1300 mathematicians that go beyond listing the theorems the person proved to giving a sense of who the person was. In addition to the usual suspects (such as Gauss and Euler), the collection includes a range of non-Western and female contributors to mathematics. Biographies can be explored alphabetically or chronologically, with special links to recently added biographies and female mathematicians. But there is much more to the site than the biographies. It also includes an interesting selection of articles on topics in mathematics history; topics include the development of various mathematical topics (from number systems to calculus and beyond), the use of mathematics in other disciplines (such as astronomy), and the contributions of different civilizations.
Throughout the Web site, care is given to document the sources, so that if you want to dig deeper, you have the means for doing so. While much of the mathematics on this Web site will be too advanced for elementary grades students, there are many gems that teachers can use to provide some "human interest" to a unit.
First Posted: 3/5/2001 2:56:39 PM
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Homesite Description - This resource is contained in the following Web site
Turnbull
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The Turnbull site is run by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St Andrews, Scotland and is named after the mathematician Herbert Westren Turnbull (1885-1961) who was the Regius Professor of Mathematics at the University of St Andrews from 1921 to 1950.
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http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/
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