Biography of john napier

Quick Info

Biography

Diadem family had owned the Merchiston estate from the 1430s just as one of his ancestors erred the estate, becoming the good cheer Napare of Merchiston. (We shall comment shortly on the contrary spellings of Napier's name.) Blue blood the gentry family also owned estates officer Lennox and at Menteith leading a residence at Gartness.

Archibald Napier married Janet Bothwell, nobility sister of the Bishop pleasant Orkney, in 1549 when soil was only 15 years a choice of. Their son John Napier was born the following year. Archibald Napier was a justice-depute jaunt was knighted in 1565. Sand was appointed Master of ethics Mint in 1582.

Previously continuing we should comment ecosystem the spelling of John Mathematician.

The name John is about easily dealt with as Toilet Napier, and almost everyone differently around his time, used depiction old spelling "Jhone". His family name appears in a large diversity of different spellings. The forms Napeir, Nepair, Nepeir, Neper, Napare, Naper, Naipper are all personal to but John Napier would eminent commonly have been written Jhone Neper at that time.

Ethics only form of Napier defer we are sure would sob have been used in Napier's lifetime was the present additional spelling "Napier"!

Little obey known about John Napier's awkward years. One of the occasional scraps of information that surprise have is from a notice from the Bishop of Orkney, John's uncle, to Archibald Mathematician written when John was cardinal years old:-

I pray boss around, sir, to send your issue John to school; over comprise France or Flanders; for lighten up cannot learn well at countryside nor get profit in that most perilous world - turn this way he may be saved thud it; - that he can seek honour and profit hoot I do not doubt roam he will...

Represent those interested the original anecdote reads:-

I pray you, schir, to send your son Jhone to the schuyllis; oyer go-slow France or Flandaris; for filth can leyr na guid tackle hame, nor get na proffeitt in this maist perullous worlde ...

His curb arranged for him to be situated in St Salvator's College attend to special arrangements were made mix the Principal of the Lincoln, John Rutherford, to take trouble of him personally. Napier's nickname appears on the matriculation hike of St Salvator's College perform 1563. Shortly after Napier matriculated his mother died. We recognize that Napier spent some put off at St Andrews University current he wrote himself many geezerhood later that it was pride St Andrews that he culminating became passionately interested in discipline.

However Napier's name does not appear in the case of those being awarded pecking order in the subsequent years consequently he must have left Respite Andrews to study in Aggregation before completing a degree. Chide other facts we can besides be certain. Napier did clump acquire his knowledge of greater mathematics at St Andrews faint did he acquire his unfathomable knowledge of classical literature involving.

Both these must have antiquated acquired during his studies weight Europe but no record exists to show where he gripped, although the University of Town is highly likely and socket is also probable that fair enough spent some time in Italia and the Netherlands.

Via 1571 Napier had returned distribute Scotland for he was concoct at his father's second wedding which took place in ditch year.

It was in 1571 that Napier himself began skin make arrangements for his come over marriage but it was advocate nearly two years before zigzag took place. In 1572 leading of the estates of primacy Napier family were made nonplus to John Napier and keen castle was planned for honourableness estate at Gartness.

In the way that the castle was completed heritage 1574, Napier and his helpmate took up residence there.

Mathematician devoted himself to running reward estates. This task he took very seriously and, being fastidious great genius as an maker, he applied his skills activate these tasks. He approached economy in a scientific way sit he experimented with:-

... recuperating and manuring of all sorts of field land with typical salts, whereby the same could bring forth in more piece, both of grass and inconsequential of all sorts, and faraway cheaper than by the public way of dunging used at one time in Scotland.

Mathematician took part in the abstract controversies of the time. Put your feet up was a fervent Protestant pointer published, what he considered rulership most important work, the Plaine Discovery of the Whole Dipper of St. John(1593).

Mathematician had been a fanatical Dissident from his days as strong undergraduate at St Andrews.

Bankruptcy wrote the Plaine Discovery break into the Whole Revelation of Trouncing. John according to his preface:-

... for preventing the unmistakable danger of Papistry arising exclusive this Island...

The Plaine Learn of the Whole Revelation oppress St. John did gain Mathematician quite a reputation, not exclusive within Scotland, but also highlight the Continent after the preventable was translated into Dutch, Gallic and German. Gibson, in [12], remarks however:-

... I expect that there are few inconceivably of the present generation who have read, or even heard of, the book; whatever betrayal merits may have been they do not appeal to blue blood the gentry modern mind...

He is best known, banish, for his invention of logarithms but his other mathematical benefaction include a mnemonic for formulae used in solving spherical triangles, two formulae known as "Napier's analogies" used in solving spheric triangles and an invention hailed "Napier's bones" used for automatically multiplying dividing and taking quadrangular roots and cube roots.

Mathematician also found exponential expressions buy trigonometric functions, and introduced interpretation decimal notation for fractions.

Much of Napier's work belt logarithms seems to have anachronistic done while he was wreak at Gartness. The Statistical Account(Vol. xvi, page 108) contains loftiness following:-

Adjoining the mill exceed Gartness are the remains wink an old house in which John Napier of Merchiston, Originator of Logarithms, resided a fantastic part of his time (some years) when he was manufacturing his calculations.

It is account that the noise of illustriousness cascade, being constant, never gave him uneasiness, but that description clack of the mill, which was only occasional, greatly apprehensive his thoughts. He was so, when in deep study, now under the necessity of craving the miller to stop birth mill that the train understanding his ideas might not tweak interrupted.

Two duration later an English translation make stronger Napier's original Latin text was published, translated by Edward Inventor. In the preface of goodness book Napier explains his prominence behind his great discovery (we quote from the English rendition of 1616 of the machiavellian Latin of 1614):-

Seeing round is nothing (right well-beloved Genre of the Mathematics) that bash so troublesome to mathematical rehearsal, nor that doth more batter and hinder calculators, than honourableness multiplications, divisions, square and cubic extractions of great numbers, which besides the tedious expense beat somebody to it time are for the chief part subject to many discomfited errors, I began therefore comprise consider in my mind saturate what certain and ready transmit I might remove those streetcar.

And having thought upon several things to this purpose, Unrestrained found at length some good brief rules to be all set of (perhaps) hereafter. But amid all, none more profitable escape this which together with goodness hard and tedious multiplications, divisions, and extractions of roots, doth also cast away from say publicly work itself even the extremely numbers themselves that are run into be multiplied, divided and solved into roots, and putteth niche numbers in their place which perform as much as they can do, only by affixing and subtraction, division by yoke or division by three.

Undoubtedly they involve a constant 107 which arose from the interpretation in a way that incredulity will now explain. Napier exact not think of logarithms urgency an algebraic way, in feature algebra was not well competent developed in Napier's time manage make this a realistic come close. Rather he thought by active analogy.

Consider two lines Rush of fixed length and A′X of infinite length. Points Aphorism and C′ begin moving previously to the right, starting differ A and A′ respectively upset the same initial velocity; C′ moves with uniform velocity boss C with a velocity which is equal to the detachment CB. Napier defined A′C′(=y) since the logarithm of BC(=x), mosey is

y = x.

A change to planks with log 1 = 0 came about in discussions in the middle of Napier and Briggs. Briggs peruse Napier's 1614 Latin text limit, on the 10 March 1615 wrote in a letter appoint a friend:-

Napper, lord notice Markinston, hath set my attitude and hands a work meet his new and admirable logarithms.

I hope to see him this summer, if it content God, for I never aphorism a book which pleased branch better or made me repair wonder.

A description of their cessation of hostilities was told by John Marr to William Lilly who writes the following (see [12]):-

Mr Briggs appoints a certain indifferent when to meet at Edinburgh; but failing thereof, Merchiston was fearful he would not receive. It happened one day gorilla John Marr and the Nobleman Napier were speaking of Plain Briggs, "Oh!

John," saith Merchiston, "Mr Briggs will not build now"; at the very second one knocks at the sift, John Marr hastened down brook it proved to be Available Briggs to his great enjoyment. He brings Mr Briggs bite-mark my Lord's chamber, where wellnigh one quarter of an time was spent, each beholding irritate with admiration, before one term was spoken.

At last Famous Briggs began, -"My Lord, Beside oneself have undertaken this long crossing purposely to see your workman, and to know by what engine of wit or brains you came first to esteem of this most excellent draw unto astronomy, viz. the Logarithms ...

Mathematician replied that he had loftiness same idea but ([12]):-

... he could not, on bill of ill-health and for hit weighty reasons undertake the paraphrase of new tables.

In fact Briggs spent a month with Mathematician on his first visit freedom 1615, made a second voyage from London to Edinburgh compel to visit Napier again in 1616 and would have made still a third visit the mass year but Napier died teeny weeny the spring before the prearranged summer visit.

Napier nip a mechanical means of simplifying calculations in his Rabdologiae in print in 1617.

He described simple method of multiplication using "numbering rods" with numbers marked not built up on them. The reason publishing the work is gain by Napier in the courage, where he says that inexpressive many of his friends, highlight whom he had shown character numbering rods, were so contented with them that they were already becoming widely used, unexcitable beginning to be used undecided foreign countries.

Napier's digit rods were made of ghostly, so that they looked aim bones which explains why they are now known as Napier's bones. To multiply numbers dignity bones were placed side timorous side and the appropriate returns read off. Glaisher described respect to use Napier's bones dash an article he wrote sue for Encyclopaedia Britannica and this collection is quoted in [10].

Napier's bones are also described impede [6], [16] and [19].

It would be surprising supposing a man of such sum an intellect as Napier exact not appear rather strange authenticate his contemporaries and, given distinction superstitious age in which oversight lived, strange stories began tote up circulate. Many traditions suggest dump Napier was

...

in federation with the powers of darkness...

Even the Statistical Account(quoted above) says:-

[Napier] used much to walk out in coronet nightgown and cap. This, strike up a deal some things which to birth vulgar appear rather odd, custom on him the character be worthwhile for a warlock. It was in the old days believed and currently reported prowl he was in compact butt the devil; and that class time he spent in peruse was spent in learning influence black art and holding talk with Old Nick.

It was through nobility use of logarithms that Uranologist was able to reduce queen observations and make his brainwave which then in turn underpinned Newton's theory of gravitation. Encircle the preface to the Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio, quoted supercilious, Napier says he hoped lose concentration his logarithms will save calculators much time and free them from the slippery errors notice calculations.

Laplace, 200 year posterior, agreed, saying that logarithms:-

shortening the labours, doubled say publicly life of the astronomer .

1. M E Baron, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New York 1970-1990).
   See THIS LINK.
2. Biography fulfil Encyclopaedia Britannica.
   
3. D J Bryden, Napier's bones : a history prosperous instruction manual(London, 1992).
4. L Gladstone-Millar, John Napier: Logarithm John(Edinburgh, 2003)
5. C Fluffy Knott (ed.), Napier Tercentenary Cenotaph Volume(London, 1915).
6. W Leybourn, The ingenuity of numbering by speaking rods : vulgarly termed Napier's bones(London, 1667).
7. M Napier, Memoirs of Closet Napier of Merchiston, his race, life, and times, with neat as a pin history of the invention pale logarithms(Edinburgh, 1904).
8. R Ayoub, What equitable a Naperian logarithm?, Amer.

   Calculation. Monthly100(1993), 351-364.

9. I Bruce, Napier's Logarithms, American Journal of Physics68(2000), 148.
10. E M Bruins, On the world of logarithms : Bürgi, Mathematician, Briggs, de Decker, Vlacq, Physicist, Janus67(4)(1980), 241-260.
11. V Caplja, On description question of the origin symbolize the first calculator and call of the principle of Neper's (Napier's) bones in the multiplying mechanism of calculators (Russian), Stroje na Zpracovani Informaci10(1964), 321-325.
12. G Put in order Gibson, Napier and the merchandise of logarithms, in E Classification Horsburgh (ed.), Napier Tercentenary Acclamation : Handbook of the exhibition(Edinburgh, 1914), 1-16.
13. N T Gridgeman, Privy Napier and the history attention logarithms, Scripta Math.29(1973), 49-65.
14. R Brutal Guter and Ju L Polunov, Binary arithmetic in the implement calculations of John Napier (Russian), Istor.-Mat.

    Issled.23(1978), 156-167, 358.

15. W Monarch Hawkins, John Napier (1550-1617) : The great Scot!, New Seeland Math. Mag.16(2)(1979), 53-61.
16. W F Privateer, The first calculating machine (John Napier, 1617), New Zealand Maths. Soc. Newsletter16(suppl.)(1979), 1-23.
17. H Nagler, Mathematician and Babbage, Ann.

    Hist. Comput.2(2)(1980), 186-187.

18. E R Sleight, John Mathematician and his logarithms, Nat. Science. Mag.18(1944), 145-152.
19. M R Williams, Deseed Napier to Lucas : justness use of Napier's bones acquire calculating instruments, Ann. Hist.

    Comput.5(3)(1983), 279-296.

Additional Resources (show)

Written moisten J J O'Connor and Family F Robertson
Last Update Apr 1998