ebook9783319171159d4325

Description

This monograph is an annotated translation of what is considered to be the world‚Äôs first calculus textbook, originally published in French in 1696. That anonymously published textbook on differential calculus was based on lectures given to the Marquis de l‚ÄôH√¥pital in 1691-2 by the great Swiss mathematician, Johann Bernoulli. In the 1920s, a copy of Bernoulli‚Äôs lecture notes was discovered in a library in Basel, which presented the opportunity to compare Bernoulli‚Äôs notes, in Latin, to l‚ÄôH√¥pital‚Äôs text in French. The similarities are remarkable, but there is also much in l‚ÄôH√¥pital‚Äôs book that is original and innovative. This book offers the first English translation of Bernoulli’s notes, along with the first faithful English translation of l‚ÄôH√¥pital‚Äôs text, complete with annotations and commentary. Additionally, a significant portion of the correspondence between l‚ÄôH√¥pital and Bernoulli has been included, also for the fi rst time in English translation. This translation will provide students and researchers with direct access to Bernoulli‚Äôs ideas and l‚ÄôH√¥pital‚Äôs innovations. Both enthusiasts and scholars of the history of science and the history of mathematics will fi nd food for thought in the texts and notes of the Marquis de l‚ÄôH√¥pital and his teacher, Johann Bernoulli.