Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Scylla

(Encyclopedia)Scylla sĭlˈə [key], in Greek mythology. 1 Sea monster. According to one legend Circe, jealous of the sea god Glaucus' love for Scylla, changed her from a beautiful nymph into a horrible doglike cre...

Pappus

(Encyclopedia)Pappus păpˈəs [key], fl. c.300, Greek mathematician of Alexandria. He recorded and enlarged on the results of his predecessors, including Euclid and Apollonius of Perga, in his Mathematical Collect...

Day, John, English printer

(Encyclopedia)Day, John, 1522–84, English printer. At his London shop Day designed and made type for himself, but not for sale. His types included musical notes and the first Anglo-Saxon type. He printed the firs...

Adelard of Bath

(Encyclopedia)Adelard of Bath ădˈəlärd [key], fl. 12th cent., English scholastic philosopher, celebrated for his study of Arabic learning. He translated Euclid from Arabic into Latin. His major works were Perdi...

number theory

(Encyclopedia)number theory, branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of the integers (the numbers 0, 1, −1, 2, −2, 3, −3, …). An important area in number theory is the analysis of prime number...

Steiner, Jakob

(Encyclopedia)Steiner, Jakob yäˈkôp shtīˈnər [key], 1796–1863, Swiss mathematician. He was largely self-taught and was professor of geometry at the Univ. of Berlin from 1834. A pioneer in the development of...

Borelli, Giovanni Alfonso

(Encyclopedia)Borelli, Giovanni Alfonso jōvänˈnē älfônˈsō bôrĕlˈlē [key], 1608–79, Italian physiologist, physicist, astronomer, and mathematician; son of a Spanish infantryman. His wide interests led ...

Eudoxus of Cnidus

(Encyclopedia)Eudoxus of Cnidus yo͞odŏkˈsəs, nīˈdəs [key], 408?–355? b.c., Greek astronomer, mathematician, and physician. From the accounts of various ancient writers, he appears to have studied with Plat...

Clavius, Cristoph

(Encyclopedia)Clavius, Cristoph krĭsˈtôf klāˈvēəs [key], 1537–1612, German astronomer and mathematician. He entered the Jesuit order in 1555 and studied at Coimbra and Rome. He taught mathematics at the Co...

Tartaglia, Niccolò

(Encyclopedia)Tartaglia, Niccolò nēk-kōlôˈ tärtäˈlyä [key], c.1500–1557, Italian engineer and mathematician. Largely self-educated, he taught mathematics at Verona, Brescia, and Venice. A pioneer in appl...