d. c. 1260

European Mathematician

Jordanus Nemorarius was the first mathematician to correctly formulate the law of the inclined plane. His writings on geometry were important for explorers who relied on the astrolabe for navigation. Furthermore, Jordanus used letters in place of numbers in his books on mathematics, and was able to articulate general algebraic theorems in this manner. However, his system of algebraic notation was only a distant antecedent to the algebra that is used today. Thus, while Jordanus's work was influential, his system of notation was unused by later mathematicians.

The inspired, but rudimentary, forms expressed in Jordanus's writings are significant because of later developments they anticipated. For instance, since Jordanus substituted letters for numbers, he may be considered to have anticipated algebra as it was subsequently perfected by figures such as René Descartes (1596-1650) in the seventeenth century. However, Jordanus's work did not combine...