History of Mathematics
Mathematics is one of the oldest disciplines in science. It begins in almost all cultures with basic mathematics, counting and measuring. The evolution of mathematics was varying in different countries and times: centuries of stagnation alternates with centuries of major advancements. Another specific feature of mathematics: there are rarely outdated theories, theorems or proofs. The geometry of Euclid or the equations of Gauss are today as correct as they were at the time of their development. So older work is valuable not only for historians, laymen, teachers and students but also for the current researcher in mathematics.
Historical Sources
Our literature databases provide information about articles and books, and links to original texts over an extensive time period. In ZMATH there are bibliographic data, reviews and links to full texts from 1868-today.
The JFM database contains documents from 1868-1942. Recently we added bibliographical information of articles in the "Journal über die Reine und angewandte Mathematik" beginning in 1826 to the JFM Database. Additional information about the JFM database and other historic mathematical collections and digitizations projects are gathered at:
Publications
History of Mathematics in ZMATH
The database ZMATH contains references to many articles and books concerning the history, biography and evolution of mathematics. The classification scheme MSC 2000 can be used to facilitate the retrieval of relevant data. Material concerning the history of mathematics is classified generally as 01-XX. In particular:
History of Mathematics in the JFM Database
In the Jahrbuch database not all documents have been yet to be classified with respect to MSC 2000 and be provided with English keywords. For comprehensive searches please use the advanced menu and search for subject heading "Geschichte" and your special keyword. About 6000 entries are references to biographies; - please search for subject heading "Biographie*".
History of Mathematics in MathEduc
The literature database MathEduc contains nearly 4000 references to documents regarding mathematical education and history: the classification concerning this matter is A30. Many entries are interesting not only for teacher but also for students and laymen.
Journals about the History of mathematics
Here is a list of journals covered by ZMATH with the main focus on history of sciences and mathematics. Please note that also general, no-specialized journals for mathematics may contain articles concerning history.
External Links
Societies or Institutions for History of Mathematics
A list of societies, departments or research institutes dealing with the history of sciences or mathematics can be found here.
Biographies of Mathematicians
We gathered Internet sources valuable for those who are interested in information about famous and not so famous mathematicians.
