Chronology

1 - 500

1

• Chinese mathematician Liu Hsin uses decimal fractions.

20

• Geminus writes a number of astronomy texts and The Theory of Mathematics. He tries to prove the parallel postulate. (See this History Topic.)

60

• Heron of Alexandria writes Metrica (Measurements). It contains formulas for calculating areas and volumes.

90

• Nicomachus of Gerasa writes Arithmetike eisagoge (Introduction to Arithmetic) which is the first work to treat arithmetic as a separate topic from geometry.

110

• Menelaus of Alexandria writes Sphaerica which deals with spherical triangles and their application to astronomy.

150

• Ptolemy produces many important geometrical results with applications in astronomy. His version of astronomy will be the accepted one for well over one thousand years.

250

• The Maya civilization of Central America uses an almost place-value number system to base 20. (See this History Topic.)
• Diophantus of Alexandria writes Arithmetica, a study of number theory problems in which only rational numbers are allowed as solutions.

263

• By using a regular polygon with 192 sides Liu Hui calculates the value of π as 3.14159 which is correct to five decimal places. (See this History Topic.)

301

• Iamblichus writes on astrology and mysticism. His Life of Pythagoras is a fascinating account.

340

• Pappus of Alexandria writes Synagoge (Collections) which is a guide to Greek geometry.

390

• Theon of Alexandria produces a version of Euclid's Elements (with textual changes and some additions) on which almost all subsequent editions are based.

400

• Hypatia writes commentaries on Diophantus and Apollonius. She is the first recorded female mathematician and she distinguishes herself with remarkable scholarship. She becomes head of the Neo-Platonist school at Alexandria.

450

• Proclus, a mathematician and Neo-Platonist, is one of the last philosophers at Plato's Academy at Athens.

460

• Zu Chongzhi gives the approximation 355 /113 to π which is correct to 6 decimal places. (See this History Topic.)

499

• Aryabhata I calculates π to be 3.1416. He produces his Aryabhatiya, a treatise on quadratic equations, the value of π, and other scientific problems.