History of Algebra

By ahmed123456
  • 830 BCE

    Al-Khwarizimi

    Al-Khwarizimi
    A manuscript written by Al-Khwarizmi gives us the word algebra which was called al-jabr back in the 9th century.
  • 300 BCE

    Euclid

    Euclid
    Euclid preserved the concept of proportion by Eudoxus in Elements. He also gave a geometric construction with tools for the solution of the quadratic equation for positive real roots.
  • 200 BCE

    Ancient Babylon and Egypt

    Ancient Babylon and Egypt
    Algebra's origins date back to Egypt and Babylon 4000 years ago. Diophantus, then continued the learnings of Egypt and Babylon and solved many indeterminate equations. He also learned to solve linear and quadratic equations as well.
  • 497

    Aryabhata

    Aryabhata
    Finds whole number solutions to linear equations and indeterminate linear equations as well.
  • 1050

    Jia Xian

    Jia Xian
    Finds numerical solutions to polynomial equations.
  • 1400

    Medieval Times

    Medieval Times
    During the medieval times, we learned more about polynomials. We also discovered the binomial theorem. 
  • 1500

    Omar Khayyam and Fibonacci

    Omar Khayyam and Fibonacci
    Omar Khayyam attempts to explore cubic equations but he hits a roadblock when 'he tries to find the formula for the roots." Fibonacci attempted to complete his work but he failed to do so. 
  • 1535

    Scipione del Ferro

    Scipione del Ferro
    Scipione del Ferro completed Omar Khayyam's work and inspired people to learn about roots of equations with degrees of higher than five. 

  • Renee Descartes

    Renee Descartes
    Descartes wrote a book about the unknown symbols and also discovered the theory of equations and analytic geometry.

  • Carl Friedrich Gauss

    Carl Friedrich Gauss
    Gauss furthered the research made by Descartes by finding proof for the theory of equations. This lead to the discovery of complex numbers and vectors.

  • Abel and Galois

    Abel and Galois
    Niels Abel and Evariste Galois shutdown the search for a resolution to Omar Khayyam's problem by telling everyone that no such formula exists. 

  • Today

    Today
    The language has drastically changed over time. The way problems are solved are also different as well. This equation will be used to compare the ways we solve this problem vs how someone back then would.  x  + y = 1800 Today we would subtract, add, divide, and then substitute. Back then they would use square roots and exponents to solve this problem which would require many more steps.