Adam Ries
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Adam Ries (1492 – March 30, 1559) was a German mathematician. He is better known by the name Adam Riese; scientists and historians however point out that the correct spelling of his name is Ries.
A native of Staffelstein in Franconia, Ries worked, among other places, in Erfurt and Annaberg, where he headed schools of mathematics. He published three books on calculation:
A fourth book of his, "Coss" (1524) on Algebra could not be published when it was written. The manuscript was first printed in 1992 by the publisher B.G. Teubner.
Adam Ries did not publish his books in Latin, the usual practice at the time, but in German. This way he reached a wider audience and, like Martin Luther, contributed to the unification of the German language.
The major impact of bringing the methods of mathematics to the common people is paid tribute to in the still-used phrase "nach Adam Riese", meaning "according to Adam Riese", which is used when noting a simple arithmetic, e.g. zwei und zwei macht, nach Adam Riese, vier (two plus two is, according to Adam Riese, four).
Ries died in Annaberg.
[edit] External links
- O'Connor, John J., and Edmund F. Robertson. "Adam Ries". MacTutor History of Mathematics archive.
