author
Robert Record
d. 1558
Best known for introducing the equals sign, this Welsh physician and mathematician helped make mathematics easier to read and teach in English. His practical textbooks opened up arithmetic, geometry, and algebra for generations of learners.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Tenby, Wales, around 1510, Robert Recorde studied at Oxford and later worked as both a physician and a mathematician. He became one of the earliest and most influential writers to explain mathematics in English rather than Latin, making the subject more approachable for ordinary readers and students.
Recorde wrote a series of popular textbooks, including The Grounde of Artes, The Pathway to Knowledge, and The Whetstone of Witte. He is remembered most widely for introducing the equals sign in print in 1557, choosing it because, as he explained, nothing could be more equal than two parallel lines.
His life was not entirely scholarly: he also held public appointments connected with mines and the royal mint, and these roles drew him into costly disputes. He died in London in June 1558, but his books continued to be read long afterward, securing his place as a pioneer of mathematical writing in Britain.