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Mathematical Treasure: Pierre Forcadel's First Six Books of Euclid

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

Pierre Forcadel (1519–1576) was a French mathematician. From 1560 to 1573, Forcadel held a chair of mathematics at the Collège de France. In 1573 he published Les six premiers livres des elements d'Euclide.

Title page of Pierre Forcadel's 1573 Les six premiers livres des elements d'Euclide.

The text begins with the usual series of definitions:

Page 3 from Pierre Forcadel's 1573 Les six premiers livres des elements d'Euclide.

Page 14 from Pierre Forcadel's 1573 Les six premiers livres des elements d'Euclide.

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: Pierre Forcadel's First Six Books of Euclid," Convergence (September 2020)