Who Invented Math?

Answer: Invention of Mathematics cannot be attributed to a single person, but many consider Archimedes to be the Father of Mathematics.

Who Invented Mathematics: The Word ‘mathematics’ has been derived from the Greek word ‘mathema’ meaning “that which is learned”. The invention of Maths is generally attributed to Greek mathematicians who contributed different views and ideas which led to the invention of Maths when compiled. Thus invention of Mathematics cannot be attributed to a single person but many consider Archimedes to be the Father of Mathematics.

In this article, you will learn Who invented maths, the history of maths, and the individuals who contributed to the evolution and invention of mathematics.

Who Invented Maths?

It is interesting to note that physical laws already existed in nature and were simply put forward in theory by the scholars who laid the foundation of Maths. Many people think that these theories were contributed by Indian, Greek, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian civilizations. Thus we may say that Maths was not invented but discovered as the laws of nature existed from immemorial.

Some Facts About the Discovery of Maths

• Sumerians created the first counting system in the world.
• Scientists think that mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are more than 4000 years old.
• People used to do calculations on clay tablets in ancient times.
• Mayan civilization used mathematics to study astronomy and developed calendars based on astrological predictions.
• Greeks are credited with the discovery of algebra and geometry which led to great advancement in Mathematics.

History of Mathematics

Mathematics did not originate from a single person or nation but instead evolved through the contributions of various ancient civilizations over time. These civilizations made significant advancements in mathematics, shaping the subject’s progress. Here are some of the ancient civilizations that played pivotal roles in the evolution of Mathematics.

Babylon

Mathematics, as used by the Mesopotamian people is referred to as Babylonian Mathematics. Sumerians or Mesopotamians were the first to develop a system of metrology around 3000 BC. This time also provides us with evidence of the first numerals written on Earth.

Egypt

With the invention of paper by Egyptians, mathematics was widely used in Egypt and calculations were written on paper. Ahmes Papyrus is the most extensive mathematical work by the Egyptians. It is used as a geometry manual. It consists of various mathematical formulae on geometry and knowledge on prime numbers, composite numbers and fractions.

Greece

Greek Mathematics was much more advanced than the Egyptian or Sumerian mathematics. Greeks carefully observed the results of various calculations and came up with postulates and Axioms to prove their observations. Various theorems given by Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras Theorem are an important results in Maths.

Rome

Romans made use of simple mathematics to create the Roman calendar. They also used mathematics for management of taxes and detecting frauds in their treasury.

China

Tsinghua Bamboo Slips is the earliest known decimal multiplication table to us. Chinese also made use of rod numerals which was a decimal positioning writing system.

India

Indian mathematicians such as Aryabhatta, Budhayana, Varahmihira made remarkable progress in Mathematics. Budhayana was the first to calculate the value of pi to a large number of decimal places. Aryabhatta used mathematics to predict the position of stars and planets. The invention of decimal system is also attributed to India. India has a long history of use of Maths in its religious texts.

Mathematics In Medieval Period

Medieval period people got interested in mathematics as they felt that mathematics helped to understand the order of nature. Mathematics was included in the curriculum from 6th century by Boethius.

With the onset of 12th century many European scholars collected texts on mathematics such as those written by Al-Khwarizmi and Euclid. The works of these people encouraged them to delve deeper into Mathematics. Fibonacci was greatly impressed by Hindu-Arabic numerals and wrote several book on Mathematics after. He also introduced the famous Fibonacci sequence in Europe.

In 14th century, mathematics of local motion was developed which was a great discovery. This lead to the discovery of laws of motion in future. It was also attempted to calculate the instantaneous value of a quantity which formed the basis of differential calculus.

Contribution of Indian Mathematicians in the Invention of Maths

India has been the birthplace of many great mathematicians who enriched it with their contributions. Some of the Indian Mathematicians are as follows:

Bhaskara

Bhaskara, also known as Bhaskaracharya wrote the book Siddhanta Siromani. He stated that we get infinity when any number is divided by zero. He also told that sum of infinity and any number is infinity.

Aryabhatta

Aryabhatta was a great astronomer and a mathematician. He wrote two books Aryabhatiyam and Surya Siddhanta. He told that there are 365 days in a year and worked on the place value system.

S. Ramanujan

He was one of the most important mathematician of modern India. His contributions include Hardy-Ramanujan-Littlewood circle method, Elliptic functions, Continued fractions, Roger-Ramanujan’s identities and much more.

Satyendranath Bose

SN Bose is mainly known for his work in quantum mechanics. He also made various contributions such as Bose-Einstein condensate, Bose-Einstein statistics, and Bose-Einstein correlations.

Shakuntala Devi

Shakuntala Devi, popularly known as Human Computer made quick and complex calculations without the need or use of calculator. She has many world records in her name.

Applications Of Mathematics

Mathematics has many real life applications. Some of them are:

• Algebra is used to study crystal symmetry.
• Trigonometry is used to calculate distances between various celestial bodies.
• The discovery of differential calculus has lead to great inventions in all spheres of study.
• Mathematics is also used in cryptography.
• Computer is completely based on mathematics.
• Machine Learning and AI are making use of statistics today.
• Medical science has advanced a lot with the use of mathematics.

Summary – Who Invented Maths

Thus, invention of math cannot be attributed to a single person but is a result of contributions by various civilisations and mathematicians. Mathematics has been in existence since times immemorial. Thus we cannot provide any fixed date of origin of mathematics. Though, invention of mathematics is still a mystery, it has helped unveil various mysteries of universe.

FAQs on Who Invented Maths

1. Who is the Father of Mathematics?

Archimedes is considered to be Father of Mathematics.

2. Who is considered Prince of Indian Mathematics?

Srinivas Ramanujan is considered Prince of Indian Mathematics.

3. Who invented the numbers?

Numbers, as a fundamental concept in mathematics, were not invented by any single individual or culture. Instead, they are a universal and foundational aspect of human understanding that has developed over thousands of years.

4. Name some Indian Mathematicians?

Aryabhatta, Varahmihira and Budhayana were some Indian mathematicians.

5. Who invented Geometry?

Geometry was not invented by a single person but rather evolved over centuries with contributions from various cultures and mathematicians.

6. Who invented decimal system?

India is credited with the discovery of decimal system.

7. For what purpose was maths used in Rome?

Romans made use of simple mathematics to create the Roman calendar. They also used mathematics for management of taxes and detecting frauds in their treasury.

8. Who discovered paper and started to do calculations on paper?

Egyptians discovered paper and started to do calculations on paper.

9. Who invented zero in mathematics?

Zero was invented by Indian mathematician Aryabhatta.

10. Who is the Inventor of Math?

There is not a single inventor of Maths. Maths is invented and evolved through a lot of individuals and centuries.