author
Sir Thomas Little Heath
1861–1940
A leading interpreter of ancient Greek mathematics, he helped generations of readers meet Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, and other classical thinkers in clear English. Alongside a distinguished career in the British civil service, he built a lasting reputation as a careful historian of mathematics.
2 Audiobooks
Archimedes
by Sir Thomas Little Heath
The Copernicus of Antiquity (Aristarchus of Samos)
by Sir Thomas Little Heath
About the author
Born in 1861 and educated at Clifton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, Sir Thomas Little Heath became both a senior British civil servant and one of the best-known English historians of Greek mathematics. He served for many years at the Treasury and was honored with distinctions including election to the Royal Society.
He is especially remembered for translations and studies of major ancient mathematicians, including Euclid, Archimedes, Apollonius, Diophantus, Aristarchus, and Ptolemy. His books were valued not just as translations, but as patient guides that explained the mathematical ideas, their historical setting, and why they mattered.
Heath died in 1940, but his work has remained useful for readers who want a reliable doorway into the mathematics of the ancient world. For many modern students, scholars, and curious general readers, his writing has been one of the main bridges between classical Greek texts and modern mathematical history.