Jehan Adam
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Jehan Adam was a French mathematician who flourished in the 15th century. He was secretary to Nicholle Tilhart, who was notary, secretary and auditor of accounts to King Louis XI of France.
He published a manuscript in 1475 containing the first use of the terms by-million and tri-million, which gave rise to the modern terms billion and trillion. His usage referred to the long scale values of 1012 and 1018 respectively. These terms have subsequently been revalued in English to the short scale values 109 and 1012 respectively, although the original values remain in long scale countries
[edit] References
(French)
- Bibliothèque St Geneviève, Paris, MS Français 3143 - original manuscript by Jehan Adam
- Jehan Adam, Traicté en arismetique pour la practique par gectouers… Parchemin. XVe siècle (1475).
(English)
- Lynn Thorndike, "The Arithmetic of Jehan Adam, A.D. 1475," Science and Thought in the Fifteenth Century
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