Mathematician:Rafael Bombelli

Italian mathematician whose influence may have been greater than is currently recognised.

Also worked as a civil engineer, gaining a high reputation for his involvement in the draining of the Val di Chiana marshes.
 * Documented the rules for multiplication involving negative numbers.
 * Pioneered the work on the understanding of imaginary numbers, using as a springboard Cardano's Formula for the solution of the cubic.
 * Developed a method of solving square roots by an approach related to continued fractions.

Nationality
Italian

History

 * Born: Jan 1526, Bologna, Papal States (now Italy)
 * Died: 1572, (probably) Rome, Papal States (now Italy)

Books and Papers

 * Attempted a translation of the Arithmetica of.
 * 1572: Algebra (3 volumes of 5)
 * 1929: The last two volumes of Algebra published.