Roger Cotes advanced the understanding of trigonometric functionsthrough his original work on integration, functions, and the nth roots of unity. He is also remembered for his contributions to Isaac Newton's work on universal gravitation.

Cotes was born in Burbage, England, the son of the Reverend Robert Cotes and his wife, Grace. He attended the Leicester School; his uncle, the Reverend John Smith, was so impressed by the boy's ability in mathematics that he decided to oversee Cotes' early education. When Cotes left Leicester School for St. Paul's School in London, he and his uncle regularly corresponded about science and mathematics. Cotes was admitted as a scholarship student to Trinity College in Cambridge in 1699. He completed his undergraduate work in 1702 and earned a master's degree in 1706.

Looking to the Stars

Like many mathematicians of his era, Cotes was also an astronomer. The universe offered fascinating mathematical puzzles, and...