Mathematicians Of The Day

5th August



On this day in 1900, the engineer Frank Baldwin was awarded a U.S. Patent for his mechanical calculator. This machine was capable of doing a calculation such as 54679285×3298=18033228193054679285 \times 3298 = 180332281930 in about 20 seconds with eight turns of the handle.

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Quotation of the day

From Niels Abel
With the exception of the geometric series, there does not exist in all of mathematics a single infinite series whose sum has been determined rigorously.
Quoted in E Maor, To Infinity and Beyond: a Cultural History of the Infinite