Mathematician:Thomas Harriot

Mathematician

English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator.

Made great advances in algebra, recognising all roots of equations even whether they be negative or complex.

Had less influence than he might have done, as no mathematical writings of his were ever published in his lifetime.

Was at one point credited with the invention of $>$ and $<$ for greater than and less than, but it appears that they were in fact invented by somebody else.

Nationality

English

History

• Born: c. 1560, Oxford, England
• Died: 2 July 1621, London, England

Publications

• 1588: A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia
• 1631: Artis Analyticae Praxis ad Aequationes Algebraicas Resolvendas (published posthumously)

Also known as

His name is variously reported as Harriott, Hariot, or Heriot.

Sources

• John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "Thomas Harriot": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive

• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Harriot, Thomas (1560-1621)
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Harriot, Thomas (1560-1621)
• 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $4$: Lure of the Unknown: Algebraic symbolism