File:John_Wallis_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller,_Bt.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
John Wallis was an English mathematician who lived from 1616 to 1703 and made important contributions to the development of calculus and mathematical notation. His work helped establish modern mathematical methods and symbolism that influenced how mathematics is studied and taught today.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Born
- 3 December [ O.S. 23 November ] 1616, Ashford, Kent , England
- Died
- 8 November 1703 (1703-11-08) (aged 86) [ O.S. 28 October 1703 ] , Oxford , Oxfordshire , England
- Education
- Felsted School , Emmanuel College, Cambridge
- Known for
- Wallis product , Inventing the symbol ∞ , Extending Cavalieri's quadrature formula , Coining the term " momentum "
- Spouse
- Susanna Glynde (m. 1645)
- Children
- 3, including Anne, Lady Blencowe
- Fields
- Mathematics
- Institutions
- Queens' College, Cambridge University of Oxford
- Academic advisors
- William Oughtred
- Notable students
- William Brouncker
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- John
- Family name
- Wallis
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Kingdom of England
- Place of birth
- Ashford
- Place of death
- Oxford
- Occupation
- archivist
- Position held
- Savilian Professor of Geometry
- Employer
- Queens' College
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- Presbyterianism
- Field of work
- mathematics
- Image
- John Wallis by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- member of
- Royal Society
- Commons category
- John Wallis
- date of birth
- 1616-11-23
- date of death
- 1703-10-28
- name in native language
- John Wallis
- writing language
- English language
- maintained by WikiProject
- WikiProject Mathematics
- place of burial
- University Church of St Mary the Virgin
- P8168
- Nagari
via Wikidata · CC0
~27 min read
Encyclopedic overview
John Wallis (/ˈwɒlɪs/; Latin: Wallisius; 3 December [O.S. 23 November] 1616 – 8 November [O.S. 28 October] 1703) was an English clergyman and mathematician, who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus.
Between 1643 and 1689 Wallis served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal court. He extended Cavalieri's method of indivisibles through the use of interpolation. Applying Kepler's principle of continuity, he developed techniques for the evaluation of integrals. He is credited with introducing the symbol ∞ to represent the concept of infinity. He similarly used 1/∞ for an infinitesimal. He was a contemporary of Isaac Newton and one of the greatest intellectuals of the early modern mathematics.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Wallis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.