History of Trigonometry

By HoldenP05
  • Period: 1900 BCE to 1600 BCE

    Babylonian tablets show knowledge of Pythagorean Triples

  • 1800 BCE

    Plimpton 322, which contains Pythagorean Triples, was written

  • 1650 BCE

    The earliest example of trigonometry was found on the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus

  • Period: 800 BCE to 400 BCE

    Pythagorean Theorem mentioned in the Baudhayana Sulba-sutra of India

  • 600 BCE

    Thales measures the height of the Pyramids of Giza using similar triangles

  • Period: 535 BCE to 500 BCE

    Pythagoras "creates" the Pythagorean Theorem

  • Period: 161 BCE to 127

    Hipparchus creates Trigonometry

  • 100

    Menelaus of Alexandria writes the Sphaerica (Spherical Trigonometry)

  • 100

    Menelaus of Alexandria writes 6 books of tables of chords

  • Period: 127 to 141

    Ptolemy studies astronomy and finished Hipparchus' work on trigonometry

  • 499

    Aryabhata creates the first ever sine and cosine tables

  • Period: 800 to 829

    Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī produces the first table of tangents

  • 830

    Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi produced the first table of cotangents

  • Period: 900 to 999

    Abul Wafa, a Persian mathematician, creates the Tangent function

  • Period: to

    Many new inventions were created using trigonometry including accurate clocks, navigation tools, and musical instruments

  • Period: to

    The Great Trigonometrical Survey was used to survey the Indian subcontinent

  • Height of Mt. Everest measured using trigonometry