Overview

Robert Recorde was an important sixteenth-century Welsh physician and mathematician and one of the most enigmatic figures of Tudor England. This book presents a richly detailed and fully rounded picture of Recorde as an academic, theologian, astronomer, antiquarian, inventor of the equals sign (=), and writer of widely used textbooks. He was also a scholar who found himself completely out of his depth in surrounding political and religious dramas. Drawing from numerous extracts from Recorde's own writings, transcribed into modern English, Gordon Roberts offers the first full-length biography of an intellectual at the center of intrigue and turmoil.

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9781783168545

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-A Welsh scholar of great influence, the Tudor mathematics educator Robert Recorde holds a permanent place in the history of mathematics as the inventor of the equals sign. . . . He was also a physician, a poet, and surveyor of mines and monies who was prosecuted for libel and ended his life in prison. This engagingly written book presents the ups and downs of Recorde's eventful life with great clarity.- --Robin Wilson, The Open University

Robert Recorde was not only was the author of one of the most popular textbooks of arithmetic of all time, but he was also a medical doctor, a surveyor of mines, an antiquarian, a poet, and someone deeply involved in the religious controversies that plagued England under the Tudors. Roberts does justice to all these aspects of Recorde's career, and he draws a rich and convincing portrait of the society in which Recorde grew up in Wales, as well as the atmosphere of Oxford and Cambridge where he studied, and of London, which became his home later in life. -- MathSciNet A Welsh scholar of great influence, the Tudor mathematics educator Robert Recorde holds a permanent place in the history of mathematics as the inventor of the equals sign. . . . He was also a physician, a poet, and surveyor of mines and monies who was prosecuted for libel and ended his life in prison. This engagingly written book presents the ups and downs of Recorde's eventful life with great clarity. --Robin Wilson, The Open University Roberts's new biography of Robert Recorde is a wonderfully readable account of this fascinating Tudor scientist, his difficult career in times of religious and political dangers, and his innovative and remarkably entertaining textbooks. It provides context to help the reader fully appreciate the work of this important pioneer of mathematics education. --Tony Mann, Director, University of Greenwich

A Welsh scholar of great influence, the Tudor mathematics educator Robert Recorde holds a permanent place in the history of mathematics as the inventor of the equals sign. . . . He was also a physician, a poet, and surveyor of mines and monies who was prosecuted for libel and ended his life in prison. This engagingly written book presents the ups and downs of Recorde's eventful life with great clarity. --Robin Wilson, The Open University

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Suitable for six form students and above, with the intention of being a popular biography. Serves as an introduction to Robert Recorde for more advanced study

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