Adam Ries

Adam Ries (born 1492 or 1493, died 30 March 1559), also written Adam Riese, was a German arithmetician known in Germany as the father of modern calculating. Born in Staffelstein, he ran a mathematics school in Erfurt, where two of his books appeared, and from about 1522 lived in the mining town of Annaberg, working as a mine accountant and regional financial administrator. He wrote in German rather than Latin, so that merchants, craftsmen and apprentices could use his books. His Rechnung auff der linihen und federn of 1522 taught calculation both on the counting board and with Indian-Arabic numerals and went through well over a hundred printings, helping to replace Roman numerals in everyday use. His algebra textbook Coss, finished in 1524, was not printed until 1992. The German phrase according to Adam Riese still means by simple arithmetic, and the asteroid 7655 Adamries is named for him.