1075-1160

English Scholar

The contributions made by Adelard of Bath to mathematical knowledge were primarily in the area of scholarship, translation, and historical writing rather than original theory. Nonetheless, his achievements were crucial to the growth of learning in Western Europe, and included the first translation of Euclid's (c. 325-c. 250 B.C.) Elements, which became the first important geometry textbook in the West, and al-Khwarizmi's (c. 780-c. 850) Tables, which introduced Arab astronomy to Western thinkers. In presenting ideas derived from the East, Adelard brought two other concepts of staggering importance to the attention of Western mathematicians: trigonometry and Hindu-Arabic numbers.

Though he is known as an Englishman, Adelard spent much of his career outside his home country. In France, he studied at Tours and from 1100 taught at Laon. He later spent seven years traveling, first visiting the medical school at Salerno in southern Italy...