MATH 419 Historical Perspectives of Mathematics: Home
Library resources for history of mathematics
Math history books are located on the 5th floor West of Wilson Library, under QA 21.
This is the beginning of the subject arrangement on math history, there are many more books on math and mathematicians.
Use the OneSearch catalog to locate more items.
Finding & Using
REFERENCE
Biographies of Mathematicians in AccessScience, online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archives
Princeton Companion to Mathematics ebook version
Princeton Companion to Mathematics print copy in library
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Dictionary of Scientific BiographyWestern Library Wilson 2W - Reference (Q141 .D5 )
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Encyclopedia of mathematicsWestern Library Wilson 2W - Reference (QA5 .T34 2005 )
ARTICLE DATABASES
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MathSciNet [American Mathematical Society]A database of reviews, abstracts, and bibliographic information for mathematical sciences publications. Includes full-text journal articles from Mathematical Reviews and Current Mathematical Publications.
Tip:Full text of citations with bibliographies only, use Find It button to find articles, and ILLIAD when not available. -
Web of Science [Thomson Reuters]A multi-database search tool combining all three Web of Science indexes (the Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index).Tip:You can use this index to find works that have cited a specific author or article.
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America: History and Life [EBSCO]An index of over 1,800 journals from 1895 to the present on the history and life of the United States and Canada. Includes citations and links to books and media reviews.
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Historical Abstracts [EBSCO]A database of citations and abstracts from more than 2,300 journals in over 40 languages on world history (excluding the United States and Canada).
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BAS: Bibliography of Asian Studies [EBSCO]An index of nearly 900,000 citations to publications in Asian Studies dating back to 1971.
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Google ScholarA tool to conduct a broad search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, patents, and technical reports.
Tip:Use Google Scholar to see how often a publication has been cited and connect to WWU subscriptions off campus. How do I connect Google Scholar to library subscriptions from off campus? -
Art Full Text [EBSCO]A database of full-text articles and citations to publications covering all types of art, including commercial art, photography, film, and architecture.
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MLA International Bibliography [EBSCO]An index of citations to articles, books, and other publications covering literature, languages, linguistics, folklore, journalism, communications, film, media, and theater.
Mathematics -- History Subject Search
Mathematics -- History search of the OneSearch catalog for materials located in Western Libraries
Selected Books
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A History of Mathematics by
Call Number: Online AccessPublication Date: 2011-01-06The updated new edition of the classic and comprehensive guide to the history of mathematics For more than forty years, A History of Mathematics has been the reference of choice for those looking to learn about the fascinating history of humankind's relationship with numbers, shapes, and patterns. This revised edition features up-to-date coverage of topics such as Fermat's Last Theorem and the Poincaré Conjecture, in addition to recent advances in areas such as finite group theory and computer-aided proofs. Distills thousands of years of mathematics into a single, approachable volume Covers mathematical discoveries, concepts, and thinkers, from Ancient Egypt to the present Includes up-to-date references and an extensive chronological table of mathematical and general historical developments. Whether you're interested in the age of Plato and Aristotle or Poincaré and Hilbert, whether you want to know more about the Pythagorean theorem or the golden mean, A History of Mathematics is an essential reference that will help you explore the incredible history of mathematics and the men and women who created it. -
Pioneering Women in American Mathematics by
Call Number: Western Library Wilson 5W - Books (QA28 .G74 2009 )Publication Date: 2008-12-16"This book is the result of a study in which the authors identified all of the American women who earned PhD's in mathematics before 1940, and collected extensive biographical and bibliographical information about each of them. By reconstructing as complete a picture as possible of this group of women, Green and LaDuke reveal insights into the larger scientific and cultural communities in which they lived and worked." "The book contains an extended introductory essay, as well as biographical entries for each of the 228 women in the study. The authors examine family backgrounds, education, careers, and other professional activities. They show that there were many more women earning PhD's in mathematics before 1940 than is commonly thought." "The material will be of interest to researchers, teachers, and students in mathematics, history of mathematics, history of science, women's studies, and sociology."--BOOK JACKET. -
From Five Fingers to Infinity byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 5W - Books (QA21 .F76 1994 )Publication Date: 1994-05-01"The only book of its kind, From Five Fingers to Infinity is an absorbing, entertaining, user-friendly account of one of the greatest adventures in human thought. It is a global survey of the history of mathematics, suitable for readers with no background in math as well as for the more informed reader or teacher." "This work tells the astonishing story of the history of mathematics in 114 popular articles, presented in a chronological and thematic manner, with numerous illustrations. It can be read straight through, but is also ideal for dipping into. The articles are culled from the best and most approachable pieces ever written in this field; some are by such leading writers as Carl Boyer, Howard Eves, Morris Kline, and Dirk Struik. Others are real gems by lesser-known writers, which Frank Swetz has found in his exhaustive search of the literature." "Among the distinctive features of this volume: discussions of the mathematical accomplishments of traditional peoples, Native Americans, and others, not usually treated in histories of mathematics; actual translations from early and epoch-making mathematical texts; a comprehensive review of Babylonian mathematical achievements; sensitivity to the social and cultural context of mathematical endeavors; over 300 relevant, provocative, and helpful illustrations, and 18 historical exhibits; illuminating introductions and pointers and extensive bibliographical information; and each article short and self-contained."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
More books
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The World of Mathematics byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 5W - Books (QA3 .N48 )ISBN: 1556151497Publication Date: 1956A monumental 4-volume reference, 15 years in the making, The World of Mathematics was specially designed to make mathematics more accessible to the inexperienced.
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Collected works. byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 5W - Books (QA3 .V594 )Publication Date: 1961v. 1. Logic, theory of sets and quantum mechanics--v. 2. Operators, ergodic theory and almost periodic functions in a group--v. 3. Rings of operators--v. 4. Continuous geometry and other topics--v. 5. Design of computers, theory of automata and numerical analysis--v. 6. Theory of games, astrophysics, hydrodynamics and meteorology
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From Kant to Hilbert byCall Number: Western Library Wilson 5W - Books (QA8.6 .F77 1999 )Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is widely taken to be the starting point of the modern period of mathematics while David Hilbert was the last great mainstream mathematician to pursue important nineteenth century ideas. This two-volume work provides an overview of this important era ofmathematical research through a carefully chosen selection of articles. They provide an insight into the foundations of each of the main branches of mathematics-algebra, geometry, number theory, analysis, logic, and set theory-with narratives to show how they are linked. Classic works by Bolzano,Riemann, Hamilton, Dedekind, and Poincare are reproduced in reliable translations and many selections from writers such as Gauss, Cantor, Kronecker, and Zermelo are here translated for the first time. The collection is an invaluable source for anyone wishing to gain an understanding of thefoundation of modern mathematics. From reviews of the hardback: '...well prepared and paves the way to a profound study of the concerned subject.' E. Knobloch in Zentrallblatt fur Mathematik. '...the book is a wide-ranging and substantial contribution to the accessibility of writings on thefoundation of various branches of mathematics.' I. Grattan-Guinness in History and Philosophy of Logic.
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