author
Florian Cajori
1859–1930
A Swiss-born historian of mathematics, he helped turn the story of numbers, symbols, and scientific ideas into a field of study in its own right. His books made the evolution of mathematical notation and thought feel alive and connected to everyday learning.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Switzerland in 1859, he emigrated to the United States as a teenager and built his academic career there. He studied in Wisconsin, later taught at Tulane University and Colorado College, and eventually became a leading scholar of the history of mathematics.
He was especially known for writing clear, influential books on how mathematical ideas and symbols developed over time. Works such as A History of Mathematical Notations and A History of Physics in Its Elementary Branches helped establish him as one of the most respected historians of mathematics of his era.
Later in his career, he joined the University of California, Berkeley, where he continued his research and writing until his death in 1930. His work is still valued for showing that mathematics has a human history shaped by culture, teaching, and discovery.