John napier interesting facts
- •
John Napier
Scottish mathematician (1550–1617)
For other people with the same name, see John Napier (disambiguation).
John Napier of Merchiston (NAY-pee-ər;[1]Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston.
John Napier is best known as the discoverer of logarithms. He also invented the so-called "Napier's bones" and made common the use of the decimal point in arithmetic and mathematics.
Napier's birthplace, Merchiston Tower in Edinburgh, is now part of the facilities of Edinburgh Napier University. There is a memorial to him at St Cuthbert's at the west side of Edinburgh.[2]
Life
Napier's father was Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle, and his mother was Janet Bothwell, daughter of the politician and judge Francis Bothwell,[3] and a sister of Adam Bothwell who became the Bishop of Orkney. Archibald Napier was 16 years old when John Napier was born.[3 John Napier lived from 1550 to 4 April 1617. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh, and Janet Bothwell, herself a daughter of a member of Parliament. He went on to to become a hugely influential mathematician who invented logarithms, who produced a calculating machine called Napier's Rods or Napier's Bones, and who did much to further the interests of the decimal point in mathematics. Today one of Edinburgh's universities, Napier University, is named after him and is built around his family home of Merchiston Castle. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline. Napier had little formal schooling, instead being tutored at home before being sent to the University of St Andrews at the age of 13. He then travelled to Europe to continue his studies. In 1571 he returned to Edinburgh aged 21 and the following year married Elizabeth Stirling, daughter of the Scottish mathematician James Stirling. They had two children together before Elizabeth di John Napier is most famous for inventing a method of calculation using logarithms. He also devised: Invented in 1614, Napier's logarithms allowed people to do more calculations in one hour than they could previously have done in a day. Logarithms turn complicated multiplication and division problems into addition and subtraction. They are laid out in logarithmic tables, popularly known as 'log tables'. Variations on Napier's logarithmic tables were used everywhere until the 1970s, when electronic calculators were invented. Logarithms depend on ratios between numbers. By substituting different 'artificial' numbers for the numbers you are working with, you make calculations on 'artificial numbers'. You then convert the resulting total to the actual answer. Fellow mathematicians applauded Napier's work on logarithms, 'Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio' (1614), almost immediately. Professor Henry Briggs was so excited about it that he made the book 'his Bosom and Darling Companion by Night and by Day'. Briggs and other
•
•
John Napier (1555-1617)
Discoveries
Logarithms
Copyright ©armywing.pages.dev 2025