Jan de Witt's Elementa curvarum linearum, liber primus
By: text, translation, introduction, and commentary by Albert W. Grootendorst with the help of Miente Bakker
Contributors: Grootendorst, A. W; Bakker, Miente
Series: Sources and studies in the history of mathematics and physical sciences
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2000
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 296
Subjects: Geometry, Analytic -- Early works to 1800
Genres: Early works to 1800
Work titles: Elementa curvarum linearum,liber primus.
Description: "This book is an English translation of the first textbook on Analytic Geometry, written in Latin by the Dutch statesman and mathematician Jan de Witt soon after Descartes invented the subject. De Witt (1625-1672) is best known for his work in actuarial mathematics ("Calculation of the Values of Annuities as Proportions of the Rents") and for his contributions to analytic geometry, including the focus-directrix definition of conics and the use of the discriminant to distinguish among them.

In addition to the translation and annotations, this volume contains an introduction and commentary, including a discussion of the role of conics in Greek mathematics."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [285]-288) and index