File:John_Wallis_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller,_Bt.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
John Wallis was an English mathematician who lived from 1616 to 1703 and made important contributions to the development of calculus and mathematical notation. His work helped establish modern mathematical methods and symbolism that influenced how mathematics is studied and taught today.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 43
Top works
- Reports of select cases argued and determined in the High Court of Chancery in Ireland
- The beauties of writing
- Hiding from Seagulls
- Occasional Miscellany, in Prose and Verse
- Return to Sunrise
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 38
- Total plays
- 460
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/John+Wallis">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple
· 1996 · cited 200,681x
- Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold
· 2021 · cited 41,730x
- Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology
· 2000 · cited 36,357x
- Matplotlib: A 2D Graphics Environment
· 2007 · cited 34,340x
- The MOS 36-ltem Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)
· 1992 · cited 28,860x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “[Mathematics were] scarce looked upon as Academical studies but rather Mechanical... And among more than two hundred students (at that time) in our college, I do not know of any two (perhaps not any) who had more of Mathematicks than I, (if so much) which was then but little; and but very few, in that whole university. For the study of Mathematicks was at that time more cultivated in London than in the universities.”
- “Mathematicks were not, at the time, looked upon as Accademical Learning, but the business of Traders, Merchants, Seamen, Carpenters, land-measurers, or the like; or perhaps some Almanak-makers in London. And of more than 200 at that time in our College, I do not know of any two that had more of Mathematicks than myself, which was but very little; having never made it my serious studie (otherwise than as a pleasant diversion) till some little time before I was designed for a Professor in it.”
- “You may find this work (if I judge rightly) quite new. For I see no reason why I should not proclaim it; nor do I believe that others will take it wrongly. ...it teaches all by a new method, introduced by me for the first time into geometry, and with such clarity that in these more abstruse problems no-one (as far as I know) has used...”
- “This method of mine takes its beginnings where Cavalieri ends his Method of indivisibles. ...for as his was the Geometry of indivisibles, so I have chosen to call my method the Arithmetic of infinitesimals.”
- “I imagined... it was possible... to establish by what means the circle could be squared, or... that it could... not, or... something would emerge... worthwhile.”
- “Logarithms was first of all Invented (without any Example of any before him, that I know of) by John Neper... And soon after by himself (with the assistance of Henry Briggs...) reduced to a better form, and perfected. The invention was greedily embraced (and deservedly) by Learned Men. ...in a short time, it became generally known, and greedily embraced in all Parts, as of unspeakable Advantage; especially for Ease and Expedition in Trigonometrical Calculations.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Born
- 3 December [ O.S. 23 November ] 1616, Ashford, Kent , England
- Died
- 8 November 1703 (1703-11-08) (aged 86) [ O.S. 28 October 1703 ] , Oxford , Oxfordshire , England
- Education
- Felsted School , Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Known for
- Wallis product , Inventing the symbol ∞ , Extending Cavalieri's quadrature formula , Coining the term " momentum "
- Spouse
- Susanna Glynde (m. 1645)
- Children
- 3, including Anne, Lady Blencowe
- Fields
- Mathematics
- Institutions
- Queens' College, Cambridge University of Oxford
- Academic advisors
- William Oughtred
- Notable students
- William Brouncker
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- John Wallis by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- Commons category
- John Wallis
- date of birth
- 1616-11-23
- date of death
- 1703-10-28
- name in native language
- John Wallis
- P8168
- Nagari
via Wikidata · CC0
~27 min read
Article
John Wallis (/ˈwɒlɪs/; Latin: Wallisius; 3 December [O.S. 23 November] 1616 – 8 November [O.S. 28 October] 1703) was an English clergyman and mathematician, who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus.
Between 1643 and 1689 Wallis served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal court. He extended Cavalieri's method of indivisibles through the use of interpolation. Applying Kepler's principle of continuity, he developed techniques for the evaluation of integrals. He is credited with introducing the symbol ∞ to represent the concept of infinity. He similarly used 1/∞ for an infinitesimal. He was a contemporary of Isaac Newton and one of the greatest intellectuals of the early modern mathematics.