Johannes Widmann
Encyclopedia
Johannes Widmann was a German
mathematician
who invented the addition (+) and the subtraction (-) signs
.
Born at in Eger
, Bohemia
, Widmann attended the University of Leipzig
in the 1480s, and published Behende und hubsche Rechenung auff allen Kauffmanschafft (German
; i.e. Nimble and neat calculation in all trades), his work making use of the signs, in Leipzig
in 1489. He died at Leipzig
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mathematician
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
who invented the addition (+) and the subtraction (-) signs
Plus and minus signs
The plus and minus signs are mathematical symbols used to represent the notions of positive and negative as well as the operations of addition and subtraction. Their use has been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous...
.
Born at in Eger
Cheb
Cheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, Widmann attended the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
in the 1480s, and published Behende und hubsche Rechenung auff allen Kauffmanschafft (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
; i.e. Nimble and neat calculation in all trades), his work making use of the signs, in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1489. He died at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
Sources
- K. Vogel, Biography in Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York 1970-1990).
- W. Kaunzner and H. Wussing (eds.), Adam Ries, Coss (B G Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart, 1992).
- M. Cantor, Vorlesungen über Geschichte der Mathematik II (Leipzig, 1913), 228-.
- K. Fogel, Merchants' aids in practical arithmetic from the Middle Ages (Russian), Istor.-Mat. Issled. No. 23 (1978), 235-249; 359.