Mathematical Treasure: Collected Works of John Wallis, including Treatise of Algebra

The Collected Works of John Wallis (1616-1703) were published from 1693 to 1699.

The frontispiece for this Collection was a portrait of Wallis.

Within this Collection is a complete copy of Wallis’s Algebra, first published in 1685.

The frontispiece for the Algebra is also a portrait of the author but in a more formal pose.

On page 105 of his Algebra, Wallis gave a table explaining his algebraic notation, where: quadratum, symbolized by “q”, indicates ‘raised to the second power’ and cubus, “c”, means ‘raised to the third power’. Thus, for a modern reader: \({\rm{Xq}}=x^2,\) \({\rm{Xc}}=x^3,\) \({\rm{Xqq}}=x^4,\) \({\rm{Xqc}}=x^5\dots.\)

Wallis’s concern for the cycloid is contained in a contribution beginning on page 499 of the Collection.

The images above are presented courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.

Index to Mathematical Treasures