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Mathematical Treasure: Francisco Villela Barbosa's Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica

Author(s): 
Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University)

Francisco Villela Barbosa (1769–1846) was a Portuguese mathematician. He graduated from the University of Coimbra in 1796, earning a degree in mathematics. His early career was spent as a professor of geometry at the Royal Navy Academy in Lisbon. Barbosa later became a noted poet and Brazilian civil servant. Author of several geometry texts, he intended his 1817 Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica as a supplement to one of those books.

Title page from Francisco Villela Barbosa's 1817 Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica.

Some sample pages:

Page 6 from Francisco Villela Barbosa's 1817 Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica. Page 7 from Francisco Villela Barbosa's 1817 Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica.

Plate of diagrams from Francisco Villela Barbosa's 1817 Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica.

These images are presented courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University. The full volume may be read here.

Index to Mathematical Treasures

Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University), "Mathematical Treasure: Francisco Villela Barbosa's Breve Tratado de Geometria Spherica," Convergence (September 2020)