Mathematicians
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi
al-KWAR-iz-mee
Also Known As Al-Khwarizmi · Latinized as Algoritmi, the direct etymological source of the word algorithm
Medieval
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Persian mathematician and astronomer working at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad under the Abbasid caliphate. His treatise al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing) gave algebra its name (from al-jabr) and its earliest systematic treatment as an independent subject, presenting general methods for solving linear and quadratic equations rather than isolated problems. A later Latin rendering of his name, Algoritmi, is the root of the modern word algorithm.
Facts
BirthplaceKhwarazm, Abbasid Caliphate (probable) 1 Ibn al-Nadim gives his birthplace as Khwarazm, the more widely repeated claim; al-Tabari's account instead places his origin near Baghdad. Genuinely disputed among historical sources, recorded honestly rather than picking one silently. Nationality / CulturePersian, working at the Abbasid House of Wisdom, Baghdad 2 Defining ContributionSystematized algebra as its own subject with general solution methods for linear and quadratic equations; his name, Latinized, gives the modern word algorithm, and al-jabr gives algebra its name. 2 Notable WorkThe Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing (c. 820 CE) 2 Disputed
Birth YearNo firm birth record survives; c. 780 CE is the commonly cited scholarly estimate. Death YearNo firm death record survives; c. 850 CE is the commonly cited scholarly estimate. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Zero, Concepts Al-Khwarizmi's work was a major channel carrying the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, zero included, into the Islamic world and, through Latin translation, into medieval Europe.
In Branch
Sources
1. Al-Khwarizmi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationopening paragraphQuote, opening paragraph
Al-Khwarizmi's name was latinized as Algoritmi, making his name the origin of the word algorithm.
1. Al-Khwarizmi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLife sectionQuote, Life section
He was of Persian descent; his name means 'from Khwarazm', a region that was part of Greater Iran, and is now part of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
2. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and StatisticsAssociated With: Algorithm, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Khwarizmi/Quote, Associated With: Algorithm, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Khwarizmi/
The Arabic text is lost but a Latin translation, Algoritmi de numero Indorum in English Al-Khwarizmi on the Hindu Art of Reckoning gave rise to the word algorithm deriving from his name in the title.
2. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and StatisticsAssociated With: Algebra, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Khwarizmi/Quote, Associated With: Algebra, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Al-Khwarizmi/
the first to teach algebra in an elementary form and for its own sake
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