William Oughtred

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William Oughtred

William Oughtred (born March 5, 1574 in Eton , † June 30, 1660 in Albury , Surrey ) was an English mathematician and pastor of the Church of England .

Life

William Oughtred went to King's College , Cambridge . He left the university around 1603 and went to the rectory at Aldbury, near Guildford, Surrey. Around 1628 he was appointed by the Earl of Arundel as a private tutor to teach his son in mathematics . He also privately taught mathematics to other students (sometimes for free) in his parish in Albury, at a time when higher mathematics was not taught in Oxford. These included John Wallis , Seth Ward and Christopher Wren . Oughtred corresponded with renowned teachers of his time. It is reported that he died in some sort of sudden rapture of joy upon hearing that Charles II had been reinstated as ruler after the Westminster vote .

plant

Clavis mathematicae , 1652

William Oughtred became famous for the invention of the circular slide rule , which he published in 1632 and 1633. His student Richard Delamaine (1590-1645) had anticipated him in the publication in 1631, which is why there was a dispute over priority between the two. The slide rule with a movable tongue in today's sense was introduced by Robert Bissaker in 1654 and Seth Patridge in 1657.

It also held in 1631, the mark "x" and the obelus a "/". Likewise, Oughtred, in his work Theorematum in libris Archimedis de Sphaera et Cylindro Declaratio, was the first mathematician to designate the circle number with " ".

His 1631 textbook Clavis Mathematicae was long a predominant textbook on algebra in England.

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personal data
SURNAME Oughtred, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH March 5, 1574
PLACE OF BIRTH Eton , England
DATE OF DEATH June 30, 1660
Place of death Albury , Surrey