Mathematicians Of The Day

3rd September



On this day in 1457, Georg Peurbach observed a lunar eclipse from a site near Vienna. He measured the duration of the eclipse and then found the time of the midpoint. It was eight minutes earlier than the time predicted by the Alphonsine Tables.

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Quotation of the day

From James Joseph Sylvester
Time was when all the parts of the subject were dissevered, when algebra, geometry, and arithmetic either lived apart or kept up cold relations of acquaintance confined to occasional calls upon one another; but that is now at an end; they are drawn together and are constantly becoming more and more intimately related and connected by a thousand fresh ties, and we may confidently look forward to a time when they shall form but one body with one soul.
Presidential Address to British Association, 1869.