The British Society for the History of Mathematics

8/7/2019 The British Society for the History of Mathematics

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The British Society for the History of Mathematics

Society Events Bulletin Resources

Web resources on the history of

mathematics

Selected and annotated by June Barrow-Green ([email protected]).

The intention of this page is to give some indication of the kind of material that isavailable on the web, with a few examples in each case: not to list it exhaustively. Manymore sites can be found through viewing the pages ofWeb Resources listed below.

Certain other resources are also maintained on this site: David Singmaster's Mathematical

Gazetteer of the British Isles; a list of the items bequeathed by John Fauvel and held by

the Open University Library on behalf of the Society (by authororby classmark); a list ofbooks offered for sale to members from the collection of the late Neil Bibby (html or

Excel spreadsheet).

Contents

General sites

Web resources

NEW LINK! The BSHM / Gresham College lectures and the Gresham College

Lecture Archive

Biographies

Regional mathematics

Museums with mathematics exhibits

Special exhibits Books and articles on-line

Student presentations

Bibliography

Societies

Journals

Philosophy of Mathematics

History of Statistics

History of Computing

Education
http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/index.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/society.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/events.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/bulletin.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/gazetteer.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/gazetteer.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/Fauvel/Fauvel_by_author.pdfhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/Fauvel/Fauvel_by_classmark.pdfhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/Fauvel/Fauvel_by_classmark.pdfhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/books/BSHMbooks.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/books/BSHMbookslist1.xlshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#generalhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#greshamhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#greshamhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#regionalhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#museumshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#specialhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bookshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bibliohttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#socshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#journalshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#philosophyhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#statshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#computinghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#educationhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/index.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/index.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/society.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/events.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/bulletin.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/gazetteer.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/gazetteer.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/Fauvel/Fauvel_by_author.pdfhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/Fauvel/Fauvel_by_classmark.pdfhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/books/BSHMbooks.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/books/BSHMbookslist1.xlshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#generalhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#greshamhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#greshamhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#regionalhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#museumshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#specialhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bookshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bibliohttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#socshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#journalshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#philosophyhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#statshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#computinghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#education


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Miscellaneous

Some of these sites are specifically devoted to history of mathematics while others are

part of larger sites. Sites which contain, or have links which contain, images and are slowto download, or which are interactive and require a specially enabled browser, have been

marked with an asterisk (*). A 'hypertext' site is one which contains pages in which thereare links to other pages explicitly incorporated within the text itself. A 'hypermedia' site is

one which incorporates the opportunity to access additional media, such as music oranimation.

Return to the top.

General Sites

All large sites have a gateway page which gives an indication of the type of resources that

are available on other pages of the site. The following are the addresses of the gateways

to three of the best known of the general sites on history of mathematics. (Some of the

pages on these sites are also included in other sections.)

David Joyce's History of Mathematics Home Page

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/

This is the starting point to a wealth of resources provided by David Joyce of Clark

University, USA. There are pages on regional mathematics, subjects, books, journals,bibliography, history of mathematics texts etc, as well as an excellent list of Web

Resources clearly categorised (see below), a very extensive chronology, and timelines. A

highly recommended site.

The Math Forum Internet Resource Collection

http://mathforum.org/

http://mathforum.org/library/topics/history/

This site is part of the The Math Forum, an on-line mathematics education community

centre, and provides an extensive list of annotated links to other sites. The sites are

ordered alphabetically and the collection can be viewed in outline or annotated form.There is a well designed search engine which allows for a variety of searches, i.e.

keywords, categories and dates.

St Andrews MacTutor History of Mathematics

http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/
http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#mischttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/http://mathforum.org/http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/index.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#mischttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/http://mathforum.org/http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/index.html


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A collection of biographies of mathematicians, and a variety of resources on the

developments of various branches of mathematics. The site includes an interactive (Java)

famous curves index, pages on mathematical societies, medals, and honours, andbirthplace maps. An extremely rich and extensive site with some excellent pages

although the quality is not always consistent. Overall, though, a good place to start.

Trinity College, Dublin, History of Mathematics archive

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/HistMath.html

This site, which was created and is maintained by David Wilkins, includes biographies of

some seventeenth and eighteenth century mathematicians, material on Berkeley, Newton,

Hamilton, Boole, Riemann and Cantor, and an extensive directory of history of

mathematics websites (see below). Another good place to start.

Convergence

http://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/

Convergence is an online magazine on the history of mathematics and its use in teaching,

published by the Mathematical Association of America. It includes articles on the historyof mathematics, material on the history of mathematics that can easily be used in

teaching, reviews of books, websites, and teaching materials relevant to the history of

mathematics, and more.

Return to the top.

Web Resources

Many sites contain pages which are devoted to links to other related sites. Providing they

are kept up to date, these can be extremely useful. However, there is a tendency toprovide lists of links with no annotation, which means that there is no way of telling

whether a site is, for example, hypertext, interactive, image intensive, or indeed whether

it has been prepared by scholars or students. You can therefore end up wasting a lot oftime downloading a site which turns out not to have the information you require. So until

you have visited a lot of sites and know your way around enough to recognise sites only

by name, it is better to use an annotated list of resources.

David Calvis's History of Mathematics Web Sites

http://www2.bw.edu/~dcalvis/history.html

A well annotated list of about twenty five sites put together by David Calvis of Baldwin-

Wallace College, Ohio. Specialised sites are listed in order of earliest date covered.
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/HistMath.htmlhttp://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www2.bw.edu/~dcalvis/history.htmlhttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/HistMath.htmlhttp://mathdl.maa.org/convergence/1/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www2.bw.edu/~dcalvis/history.html


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St Andrews MacTutor History of Mathematics: Links to external pages

http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/External/external_links.html

An annotated but unordered list of twenty six sites, including most of the major ones butalso including one or two others not found on any of the other lists. (See also

Biographies).

Resources on Women Mathematicians

http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/resource.htm

A partially annotated list of web resources and a list of books and articles about womenin mathematics. This site has a particularly well designed and informative introductory

page. (See also Biographiesand Student presentations).

Trinity College, Dublin, History of Mathematics archive: History of Mathematics

Web Directory

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/Links.html

An extremely well organised and extensive list of Web resources. The sites are

categorised but not annotated. Nevertheless, the list includes many of the best sites

currently accessible, and if you know of a good site but do not have the address there is areasonable chance that you will find it here.

Return to the top.

The BSHM / Gresham College Lectures and the

Gresham College Lecture ArchiveEvery academic year since 2000 BSHM and Gresham College have held a joint lecture

on the history of mathematics. Most of these lectures are available in video and/or audio

as part of the Gresham College Lecture Archive. This archive contains many otherfascinating lectures, including others which relate to the history of mathematics.

Triangular Relationships, by Dr Patricia Fara (4 November 2010)

Mathematics, Motion and Truth, by Professor Jeremy Gray (2 November 2009)

Mathematics and the Medici, by Jim Bennett (27 November 2008)Planes and pacifism: Activities and attitudes of British mathematicians during WWI by

June Barrow-Green (15 November 2007)From World Brain to the World Wide Web, by Professor Martin Campbell-Kelly (9November 2006)

History from Below, by Dr Stephen Johnston (3 November 2005)

The Celestial Geometry of John Flamsteed, by Dr Allan Chapman (10 February 2005)Mathematics in the Metropolis, by Adrian Rice (19 January 2004)

Return to the top.
http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/External/external_links.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/resource.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/Links.htmlhttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/Links.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.gresham.ac.uk/events.asp?PageId=45http://www.gresham.ac.uk/events.asp?PageId=45http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=1028http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=909http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=909http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=769http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=616http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=486http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=432http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=317http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=227http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/External/external_links.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/resource.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/Links.htmlhttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/Links.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.gresham.ac.uk/events.asp?PageId=45http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=1028http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=909http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=769http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=616http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=486http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=432http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=317http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=45&EventId=227http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#top


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Biographies

There is plenty of material on the Web concerned with lives of mathematicians. It comes

in a wide variety of guises, much of it excellent, and, on the whole, the Web is a verygood place to start looking for biographical material. There are sites devoted to

individuals, some of which, eg The Sir Isaac Newton Home Page and The Alan TuringHome Page, even give the appearance that the person themself has created the site! These'personal' sites generally contain a broad spectrum of material about the individual and

have good links to other relevant sites. There are also sites devoted to certain groups, eg

mathematicians of a particular period and/or place, and sites which are extensive

compendiums of biography. Many of the sites are well illustrated, although some of theearly 'portraits' should be treated with circumspection! The list below is separated into

general and individual biography.

GENERAL BIOGRAPHY

St Andrews Archivehttp://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/BiogIndex.html

This is a collection of more than 1,000 biographies, illustrated, referenced, and indexed

both alphabetically and chronologically. There are also birthplace maps, as well as a

separate index of female mathematicians. Although the entries are of variable quality, it

is the best place to start for basic biographical information. (See also Web resources).

Richard Westfall's Archive of the Scientific Community in the 16th and 17th

Centuries

http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/catalog.html

This site, which was created by the late Richard Westfall, distinguished author ofNeverat Rest. A Biography of Isaac Newton, contains concise biographical details of about 630members of the scientific community in the 16th and 17th centuries, of which about 170

are mathematicians. The individuals are systematically described by ten categories(which are fully explained) using twenty searchable fields. The data, which is presented

formally, is well organised and includes details of the sources consulted. This is a very

scholarly and reliable site. (A list of the mathematicians contained in the archive can be

found through a link on the St Andrews site.)

Biographies of Women Mathematicians

http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm

Biographical essays or comments on many women mathematicians and some

photographs. The material is indexed both alphabetically and chronologically. The site ispart of an ongoing project by students at Agnes Scott College, USA. (See also Web

resourcesand Student presentations).
http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#indivhttp://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/BiogIndex.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/catalog.htmlhttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/catalog.htmlhttp://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#indivhttp://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/BiogIndex.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/catalog.htmlhttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/catalog.htmlhttp://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#student


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Mathematicians of the 17th and 18th Centuries

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.html

A collection of biographies of 17th and 18th century mathematicians adapted fromAShort Account of the History of Mathematicsby W.W. Rouse Ball. (See also Web

resourcesand Books on-line).

INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHY

Archimedes

http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.html

An extremely rich collection of Archimedean miscellanea produced by Chris Rorres of

Drexel University, Philadelphia, including a pages on different aspects of Archimedes'

mathematics, books on Archimedes, information on Syracuse, and links to other related

sites, eg a bibliography of Archimedean literature.

Fibonacci (Leonardo of Pisa)

http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibBio.html

The site, which is the work of Ron Knott of the University of Surrey, contains a

biographical sketch of Fibonacci, his life, times and mathematical achievements. Thereare also pages on the golden ratio and methods for computing pi using the Fibonacci

numbers.

Hypatia of Alexandria

http://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatia

An extensive and partially annotated list of web resources connected with Hypatia. Theinternal links include a long list of published books and articles which contain

information on Hypatia, as well as transcriptions from 18th and 20th century texts.

The Alan Turing Home Page

http://www.turing.org.uk/turing

A large and well structured site on Turing's life and work maintained by Andrew Hodges,

the author ofAlan Turing: The Enigma. It includes material on the history of thecomputer as well as links to other related sites.

Return to the top.

Regional Mathematics
http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bookshttp://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.htmlhttp://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibBio.htmlhttp://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatiahttp://www.turing.org.uk/turinghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bookshttp://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/contents.htmlhttp://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibBio.htmlhttp://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatiahttp://www.turing.org.uk/turinghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#top


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There are many sites on regional, particularly ancient, mathematics. Many of the general

sites, notably David Joyce's site and the St Andrews site listed in Section 1, include good

regional pages. The following is a short list of some smaller (in terms of their history ofmathematics content) sites which illustrate a variety of presentations.

Mathematicians of the African Diasporahttp://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/

An excellent site created and maintained by Scott Williams of the State University ofNew York at Buffalo to exhibit the accomplishments of the people of Africa and Africa

Diaspora within the mathematical sciences. The history pages include the mathematics of

Ancient Egypt, Pre-Colonial Nigeria, and Swaziland (the Lemombo Bone). There are

good links to other related sites.

* Egyptian Mathematics Problems

http://www.eyelid.co.uk/numbers.htm

Some basic mathematical problems for high school pupils produced by artist Mark

Millimore as part of his extensively illustrated Ancient Egypt site.

* Egyptian Fractions

http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/numth/egypt/

An investigation into Egyptian fractions using Mathematica. Several annotated links toother sites of interest on Egyptian mathematics.

Japanese mathematics

http://www.tcp-ip.or.jp/~hom/historyofmath/review/hmreview.html

The site contains a list of articles on the history of Japanese mathematics written in a

European language. It is the work of Ogawa Tsukane.

Mathematics in Latvia

http://www.math.cornell.edu/~dtaimina/mathinlv.html

A 'draft' of an informative paper by Ingrida Henina and Daina Taimina on the history of

mathematics in Latvia.

Mesopotamian Mathematicshttp://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/index.html

Lots of interesting and historically accurate matierial, collected and written by Duncan

Melville for his undergraduate history course, and an extensive annotated bibliography by

Eleanor Robson.
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/http://www.eyelid.co.uk/numbers.htmhttp://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/numth/egypt/http://www.tcp-ip.or.jp/~hom/historyofmath/review/hmreview.htmlhttp://www.math.cornell.edu/~dtaimina/mathinlv.htmlhttp://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/index.htmlhttp://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/http://www.eyelid.co.uk/numbers.htmhttp://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/numth/egypt/http://www.tcp-ip.or.jp/~hom/historyofmath/review/hmreview.htmlhttp://www.math.cornell.edu/~dtaimina/mathinlv.htmlhttp://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/index.html


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Mathematics and Passion in the Life of Thomas Jefferson

http://www.math.virginia.edu/Jefferson/jeff_r.htm

This account, by John Fauvel, of the mathematical interests of an American President anduniversity founder is included in this section to indicate that 'regional' or 'local'

mathematics can refer to more modern times too. Jefferson, a child of the Enlightenment,used and admired mathematics throughout his life, in the context of the local needs of his

beloved state and university of Virginia.

Code of the Quipu: Databooks

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/research/quipu-ascher/

The Databooks are the work of Marcia Ascher and Robert Ascher and until now were

only available on microfiche. They contain detailed descriptions of 206 quipus (Incaknotted cord arrays) studied first-hand in museums and private collections spread over

three continents. The Databooks also contain references to other published quipu

descriptions and the locations of extant quipu specimens. There is a list of references tothe Aschers more general writings about quipus.

Return to the top.

Museums with mathematics exhibits

More and more museums are now using the Web to advertise their wares, both in termsof permanent collections and special exhibitions, and history of science museums are no

exception. One particular development which is to be warmly applauded is the practice of

putting exhibition catalogues up on the Web. Especially as the quality of many of theseon-line catalogues is extraordinarily good. The availability of these catalogues has the

benefit of broadening access to students for whom an actual visit would be impossible, as

well as enabling those students who are able to make a visit prepare for it. Added to

which, they extend the life of the exhibition long after it has been dismantled, and alsomake extremely useful resources for project work. Furthermore, Web sites provide

museums with the opportunity to put their exhibits into a much wider context than would

otherwise be possible.

*The Museum of the History of Science, Oxford

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/

Of particular interest for the history of mathematics are two of the on-line exhibitions:

The Measurers: A Flemish Image of Mathematics in the Sixteenth Century and TheGeometry of War 1500-1750. These exhibition catalogues are beautifully illustrated andvery well designed.
http://www.math.virginia.edu/Jefferson/jeff_r.htmhttp://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/research/quipu-ascher/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/http://www.math.virginia.edu/Jefferson/jeff_r.htmhttp://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/research/quipu-ascher/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/


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*Library of Congress Vatican Exhibit Mathematics Room

http://sunsite.unc.edu/expo/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/d-

mathematics/Mathematics.html

A hypertext site containing annotated Greek and Latin manuscripts of mathematics and

astronomy, with very high quality images including a 9th century version of Euclid'sElements showing the Pythagorean Theorem and a 13th and 15th century versions of

Archimedes' Works.

*University Museum of Natural Science and Scientific Instruments of the University

of Modena

http://www.museo.unimo.it/theatrum/

A dynamic catalogue of the models of mathematical machines stored in the Museum'sLaboratory of Mathematics. Each model (of which there are 155) is introduced with a

photograph, a computer animation (produced using Cabri II), a description, a proof of its

properties, and a bibliography. Some interactive Java simulations are also included. Thesite is in Italian but there is an excellent general introduction in English. An extremely

informative, beautifully illustrated and well designed site.

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Special Exhibits

These are sites which make use of a variety of devices available to those with sufficiently

enhanced browsers, and also tend to be very image intensive. However, it is not always

necessary to enable all the tools in order to get a good sense of the potential of the sitesand they are well worth visiting, if only to get an idea of what sort of things are possible.

*The Archimedes Palimpsest

http://www.thewalters.org/archimedes/frame.html

An excellent site created by the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore to complement their

exhibition of The Archimedes Palimpsest (20 June-5 September 1999). It contains richly

illustrated pages on the life of Archimedes, the history (past, present and future) of thePalimpsest and a commentary by Reviel Netz.

*Galileo Project at Rice University

http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/

A superb hypertext source of information on the life and work of Galileo and the science

of his time. This is an extremely rich and well designed site with very high quality
http://sunsite.unc.edu/expo/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/d-mathematics/Mathematics.htmlhttp://www.museo.unimo.it/theatrum/http://www.museo.unimo.it/theatrum/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.thewalters.org/archimedes/frame.htmlhttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/http://sunsite.unc.edu/expo/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/d-mathematics/Mathematics.htmlhttp://www.museo.unimo.it/theatrum/http://www.museo.unimo.it/theatrum/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.thewalters.org/archimedes/frame.htmlhttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/


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images, eg the Instrument Closet, which contains text and images about the instruments

used by Galileo to perform his experiments. (See alsoStudent presentations.)

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Books and articles on-line

Texts on-line come in two forms: straightforward copies of original texts--particularly

useful if the text in question is otherwise difficult to obtain--or copies which have beenannotated or translated in order to increase accessiblility.

Digital Mathematics Library (DML)

http://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~rehmann/DML/dml_links.html

An extremely useful and labour-saving resource which provides direct links to nearly

2,000 digitised books and over 120 digitised journals. There is also a link to an article inthe Notices of the AMS which describes the inception and ongoing work of the DML.

Early Modern Thought Online

http://www.esemp.de/emto/index.htm

"Early Modern Thought Online" (EMTO) is a database offering access to about 2000digitized source texts from early modern philosophy and related disciplines like history of

science and theology provided by libraries in Europe and overseas. In the present stage ofits development, EMTO merely presents links to external resources. EMTO has been

developed at the Lehrgebiet I of the Institut fr Philosophie at the FernUniversitt inHagen, Germany. It uses litw3 for database management, and has been funded by the

Gerda-Henkel-Stiftung.

The History Of Hypatia

http://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatia/Lewis_1721.html

A partial transcription of a very rare 18th century text, the full title of which is TheHistory Of Hypatia, A most Impudent School-Mistress of Alexandria: Murder'd and torn

to Pieces by the Populace, In Defence of Saint Cyril and the Alexandrian Clergy. Fromthe Aspersions of Mr. Toland.

Rouse's Ball's History of Mathematics

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.html

Excerpts from Rouse Ball'sA Short Account of the History of Mathematics (4th edition,1908). (See also Web resources and Biographies.)
http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~rehmann/DML/dml_links.htmlhttp://www.esemp.de/emto/index.htmhttp://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatia/Lewis_1721.htmlhttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#studenthttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~rehmann/DML/dml_links.htmlhttp://www.esemp.de/emto/index.htmhttp://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatia/Lewis_1721.htmlhttp://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#biog


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*Euclid's Elements

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc.html

A full text interactive version of Euclid's Elements with historical and mathematicalcomments produced by David Joyce. With a Java enabled browser (Netscape or Internet

Explorer Version 3 or higher) it is possible to dynamically change the diagrams. Aremarkable site which makes the Elements accessible in a completely new way. Highly

recommended.

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Student Presentations

Student projects are now well established across the curriculum, and the Web can be anextremely useful resource in this context. It can be used not only as a means of supplying

information for the project, but also as the medium by which the students present their

work. In the latter case students not only have the chance to share the fruits of their

labours with others, but also have the opportunity to receive feedback too. The followingsites are examples of student projects, some collective and some individual, which have

used the Web as the medium of presentation.

Women in Mathematics

http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm

An ongoing project by students in mathematics classes at Agnes Scott College, Atlanta,

Georgia, to illustrate the achievements of women in the field of mathematics. The site

includes biographies, a page on prizes and honours for women mathematicians, and a listof other resources. (See alsoWeb resources and Biographies.)

*Galileo Project at Rice University

http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/

An excellent collection of student projects which derived from a course on Galileo in

Context. (See also Special exhibits).

Return to the top.
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#specialhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/toc.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#resourceshttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#bioghttp://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#specialhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#top


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Bibliography

These sites contain lists of published books and/or articles which are relevant to using

history of mathematics in an educational context.

Teaching History of Mathematicshttp://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/mini/default.html

An annotated list of published papers which discuss the teaching of history of

mathematics courses.

Textbooks for a History of Mathematics Course

http://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/mini/books.html

A list of possible textbooks for a history of mathematics course. These are books mostly

suitable for teaching an undergraduate course but they also provide good background

reading for anyone with a general interest in the history of mathematics.

BSHM Abstracts

http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/abs.html

Brief abstracts, sorted alphabetically by author, of papers published in journals and

books. There is a separate education section covering abstracts of papers on the uses ofhistory of mathematics in education, history of mathematics courses, and the history of

mathematics education.

Texts on the History of Mathematics

http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/textbooks.html

A list of texts including textbooks and similar general references. There is no annotationso only useful if you know the name of a source and need further details.

The British Society for the History of Science List of Theses (NEW!)

http://www.bshs.org.uk/theses/

The List gives details of theses and dissertations currently in progress, or recently

completed, in the history, philosophy and social studies of science, technology, medicine,

mathematics, engineering and studies of mind, at academic institutions in the UK and

Republic of Ireland.

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http://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/mini/default.htmlhttp://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/mini/books.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/abs.htmlhttp://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/textbooks.htmlhttp://www.bshs.org.uk/theses/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/mini/default.htmlhttp://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/mini/books.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/abs.htmlhttp://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/mathhist/textbooks.htmlhttp://www.bshs.org.uk/theses/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#top


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Societies

Most academic disciplines have societies which exist to help the promotion of their

subject at a variety of levels. The Web now provides a very convenient way to find outwhat such Societies offer their membership, how much it costs to join, as well as

supplying a means of obtaining an application form.

The British Society for the History of Mathematics

http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/

The site includes membership details, BSHM abstracts (see Bibliography), an archive

containing a list of talks given to the Society, and a page of links to other sites.

The British Society for the History of Science

http://www.bshs.org.uk/

The Royal Societyhttp://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/

An extensive site containing information about all the RS's activities, publications, library

etc.

The Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics

http://www.cshpm.org/

The site includes membership details, free access to theHistory and Pedagogy ofMathematics Newsletter, and a page of links to other sites.

Return to the top.

Journals

Increasingly journals are being made available on the Web. Sometimes this is on open

access, sometimes you need to make arrangements to pay, but there are generally indexesand quite full information about the journal. This is a good source for very recentinformation in a scholarly field, although in its nature the articles tend to be on the

specialised side for much general classroom use.

Annals of Science

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/http://www.bshs.org.uk/http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/http://www.cshpm.org/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/http://www.bshs.org.uk/http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/http://www.cshpm.org/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html


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Contains information about the journal and links to journals of related interest.

Isis

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/Isis/

Contains information about the journal and tables of contents from 1995.

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Philosophy of Mathematics

The Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/

A general site on philosophy which includes articles on the philosophy of, amongst

others, Aristotle, Descartes, and Poincar.

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History of Statistics

Material for the History of Statistics

http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/welcome.htm

A well laid out site which includes links to portraits of statisticians, biographies of

statisticians, statistical tables, and several other images of statistical interest. The site isthe work of Peter Lee of York University.

Return to the top.

History of Computing
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/Isishttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.utm.edu/research/iep/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/welcome.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.journals.uchicago.edu/Isishttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.utm.edu/research/iep/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/welcome.htmhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#top


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Codes and Ciphers in the Second World War (formerly the Bletchley Park

academic website)

http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/

A well-illustrated site giving detailed information about Bletchley Park - activities past

and present - and a good collection of links to related sites.

(NEW) History of Cryptology

http://frode.home.cern.ch/frode/crypto/

This site, which has been created by Frode Weierud of CERN, contains numerous links tosites on the history of cryptology. There are links to the Alexander papers, Turings

treatise on Enigma, historical papers incuding a recent English translation of Marian

Rejewskis 1980 paper on the breaking of the Enigma cipher (the first paper on thesubject to be published), historical cipher machines, simulators of Enigma machines, and

many more.

The Virtual Museum of Computing

http://vmoc.museophile.com/

A site, developed and maintained by Jonathan Bowen of South Bank University, made upof an extensive collection of links to sites connected with the history of computing and

computer-based exhibits. The site is divided into galleries covering a variety of topics

such as general historical information, on-line exhibits etc.

Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine

http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/contents.html

An excellent site containing texts of historical documents, including Menebrea's

description of the Engine translated by Ada Lovelace, and a detailed description of anAnalytical Engine emulator which runs as a Java applet.

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Education

Fred Rickey's Home Page

http://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/default.htm
http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/http://frode.home.cern.ch/frode/crypto/http://vmoc.museophile.com/http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/contents.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/default.htmhttp://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/http://frode.home.cern.ch/frode/crypto/http://vmoc.museophile.com/http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/contents.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.dean.usma.edu/math/people/rickey/hm/default.htm


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Fred Rickey of Bowling Green University, USA, is one of the leading proponents of

using history in mathematics education. His Home Page contains annotated links to wide

variety of resources, including a description of his own history of mathematics course.

*History of Mathematics with Original Sources

http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/gsstoudt//history/ma350/sources_home.html

A collection of materials for using original sources in a history of mathematics class. The

site, which is the work of Gary Stoudt of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, contains areading list, and a collection of discussion questions and homework problems, together

with some images of famous works.

HPM (History and Pedagogy of Mathematics)

http://www.clab.edc.uoc.gr/hpm/

HPM is the International Study Group on the Relations between History and Pedagogy of

Mathematics affiliated to ICMI. Researchers in mathematics education, teachers,curriculum developers, mathematicians, and historians of mathematics are members of

the group. Amongst other things, HPM organises satellite meetings of the ICMEconference. The site contains HPM Newsletters, notices of HPM meetings, and links to

other sites of interest.

Teaching with Original Historical Sources in Mathematics

http://math.nmsu.edu/~history/

The experiences of Reinhard Laubenbacher and David Pengelley of New Mexico State

University in using original historical sources in teaching mathematics. The site is well

referenced and there are links to several of the articles mentioned (mostly in the formof .dvi or .ps files) as well as links to other resources. There is also a detailed synopsis ofLaubenbacher and Pengelley's recently published bookMathematical Expeditions:Chronicles by the Explorers.

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Miscellaneous

A few extra sites which you may find helpful or interesting to visit but which do not fall

naturally into any of the categories above.

[HM] Historia Matematica mailing list descriptionand Historia Matematica archive

http://chasque.net/jgc/history.htm

http://archives.math.utk.edu/hypermail/historia/
http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/gsstoudt/history/ma350/sources_home.htmlhttp://www.clab.edc.uoc.gr/hpm/http://math.nmsu.edu/~history/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://chasque.net/jgc/history.htmhttp://chasque.net/jgc/history.htmhttp://archives.math.utk.edu/hypermail/historia/http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/gsstoudt/history/ma350/sources_home.htmlhttp://www.clab.edc.uoc.gr/hpm/http://math.nmsu.edu/~history/http://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://chasque.net/jgc/history.htmhttp://archives.math.utk.edu/hypermail/historia/


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Historia Matematica mailing list aims to provide a virtual forum for scholarly discussion

of the history of mathematics amongst professionals and non-professionals with a serious

interest in the field. The first site provides a description of the list (including how to join)while the second hosts archives of all contributions.

Earliest Uses of Various Mathematical Symbolshttp://members.aol.com/jeff570/mathsym.html

Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics

http://members.aol.com/jeff570/mathword.html

The above two sites, which are the product of multiple contributors, are very high quality

and provide an excellent resource. They are maintained by Jeff Miller of Gulf High

School, Florida and contributions are welcomed.

Images of Mathematicians on Postage Stamps

http://members.tripod.com/jeff560/index.html

The site, which is also maintained by Jeff Miller, contains images of postage stamps

featuring mathematicians and mathematics, as well as links to other sites displaying

mathematical stamps.

Fermat's Last Theorem

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/proof/

The site of the US version of 'the' television programme. It includes a transcript of the

programme, a page on Sophie Germain's contribution to the problem. It contains several

links including one to the The Mathematics of Fermat's Last Theorem, a hypertext sitecreated by Charles Daney which provides an overview of some of the mathematics that

has either been developed over the years to try to solve the problem (directly orindirectly) or else which has been found to be relevant.

Kevin Brown's History of Mathematics Pages

http://www.mathpages.com/home/ihistory.htm

A series of about thirty informal notes devoted to a variety of topics in history of

mathematics, ranging from the general, egNegative Numbers, to the particular, egDidPoincar discover relativity? The articles, which are not referenced, represent a personal

but informed view.

Ptolemy's Table of Chords

http://hypertextbook.com/eworld/chords.shtml

A description of the geometric theorems used in the construction of Ptolemy's table of

chords with an attempt to relate them to their contemporary trigonometric counterparts.
http://members.aol.com/jeff570/mathsym.htmlhttp://members.aol.com/jeff570/mathword.htmlhttp://members.tripod.com/jeff560/index.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/proof/http://www.mathpages.com/home/ihistory.htmhttp://hypertextbook.com/eworld/chords.shtmlhttp://members.aol.com/jeff570/mathsym.htmlhttp://members.aol.com/jeff570/mathword.htmlhttp://members.tripod.com/jeff560/index.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/proof/http://www.mathpages.com/home/ihistory.htmhttp://hypertextbook.com/eworld/chords.shtml


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Art, science and techniques of drafting in the Renaissance

http://www.imss.fi.it/news/elabor1.html

The site for the 4th International Laboratory for the History of Science, which was heldduring May/June 2001, and took place over three sessions: Brunelleschi's perspectival

experiments and the historical development of drafting instruments; Masaccio's Trinity:looking again and again; and The theory and practice of vision in Leonardo and his

followers. The site contains abstracts of papers and lists of participants.

Return to the top.

Search

The British Society for the History of Mathematics is registered as a company limited by guarantee, no.

3326816, and as a charity, no. 1061229. Its registered office is c/o Andrew Thurburn & Co, 38 Tamworth

Road, Croydon, Surrey CR0 1XU, UK.
http://www.imss.fi.it/news/elabor1.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#tophttp://www.imss.fi.it/news/elabor1.htmlhttp://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/bshm/resources.html#top

The British Society for the History of Mathematics

Documents

Transcript of The British Society for the History of Mathematics