John Wallis
English mathematician (1616–1703) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about John Wallis?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
For other people named John Wallis, see John Wallis (disambiguation).
John Wallis (/ˈwɒlɪs/;[2] 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.
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
John Wallis | |
---|---|
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 |
Nationality | English |
Education | Felsted School, Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
Known for | Wallis product Inventing the symbol ∞ Extending Cavalieri's quadrature formula Coining the term "momentum"[1] |
Spouse | Susanna Glynde (m. 1645) |
Children | 3, including Anne, Lady Blencowe |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics |
Institutions | |
Academic advisors | William Oughtred |
Notable students | William Brouncker |
Close
Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal court.[3] He is credited with introducing the symbol ∞ to represent the concept of infinity.[4] He similarly used 1/∞ for an infinitesimal. John Wallis was a contemporary of Newton and one of the greatest intellectuals of the early renaissance of mathematics.[5]