John Napier Contributions

John Napier: mathematician, philosopher, writer, and inventor. He was a very important man in the sixteenth century and his contributions are still standing today! John is best known as the great scottish mathematician who invented logarithms. Not only did he invented logarithms but also napier bones, at least one war weapon, as well as other incredible works. This paper about the famous mathematician, John Napier is going to inform you all about John’s early life, his area of expertise, and what kind of impact john made on the world.

John Napier was born on February 1, 1550 in the Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh Scotland. Edinburgh Scotland is where John was born and raised. John Napier had a very privileged life going up. Napier

John did not actually go to formal school until he was at age thirteen, which he attended St. Andrews University. He only went to the university for a brief amount of time and left before he could even achieve his degree. Napier later went on to another educational institute to receive his higher studies. John was an expert in arithmetic and mathematics, which are the fields he made many contributions to. John Napier’s greatest discovery or invention is considered to be Naperian logarithm, which is often used to mean the natural logarithm. John developed logarithms in 1617, by the help of many other talented mathematicians and scientists. Logarithms is the mathematical exponent to any specific number, which is the base, is raised to produce another number. Napier worked over twenty years just on creating methods to try to simplify calculations for a more efficient way. According to Plus Magazine, “Napier wanted to produce a table that related numbers in a useful geometric progression to numbers in a corresponding arithmetic progression so that, as he wrote, "All multiplications, divisions and [...] extraction of roots are avoided," and replaced by "most easy additions, subtractions and divisions by 2." John Napier’s mentors were his family and the great scientist and mathematicians he was working with on the project. Napier was inspired to develop the concept of logarithms for the

Some of the public were confused, others happy and excited for the more efficient way to solve the equations, and some were hesitant. Most people during the sixteenth century were not used to thinking in terms of exponents, and astronomers were comfortable and already knew how to use arithmetic. John got a lot of praise and acclaim for not only being the inventor of logarithm, but for Napier Bones, his writing, and many more. Napier’s life did not change drastically as some other inventors or mathematicians did. John was already privileged growing up, the creation of logarithm was an ongoing project from many, and after John men continued to perfect the formulas. Napier got credited as the inventor of logarithm because he found the specific formula that worked. Even though his life was not changed, the world was. Napier accomplished and helped out so many. According to a bibliography, John Napier:”A Great Man’’, John paved a way for further accomplishments in mathematics, astronomy, and many more fields. An interesting fact about John is that he had a nickname of Marvellous Merchiston, and many thought he was a wizard from his