history of mathematics

How a cute 18th century puzzle laid the foundations for one of the most modern areas of maths: network theory.

The natural logarithm is intimately related to the number e and that's how we learn about it at school. When it was first invented, though, people hadn't even heard of the number e and they weren't thinking about exponentiation either. How is that possible?

Georgian school maths: bushels of corn, kilderkins of beer and feeding soldiers. All without algebra!

A commonly held belief about medieval Europe is that academic pursuits had fallen into a dark age. The majority of scholars were churchmen, and their enquiry often related to some principle of church practice. But is there a value to respecting the tenacity of historic mathematicians?

Hugh Everett III is the father of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. He published the idea in his PhD thesis but died before it gained the recognition it deserves. This article gives an insight into Everett's difficult life.

Compass & Rule: Architecture as Mathematical Practice in England, 1500-1750, is a lovely online version of the physical exhibition help at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, in 2009. Compass and Rule focuses on design and drawing, exploring the role of geometry in the dramatic transformation of English architecture between the 16th and 18th centuries.