MATHEMATICIAN

William Oughtred

1574 - 1660

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William Oughtred (5 March 1574 – 30 June 1660), also Owtred, Uhtred, etc., was an English mathematician and Anglican clergyman. After John Napier discovered logarithms and Edmund Gunter created the logarithmic scales (lines, or rules) upon which slide rules are based, Oughtred was the first to use two such scales sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division. He is credited with inventing the slide rule in about 1622. He also introduced the "×" symbol for multiplication and the abbreviations "sin" and "cos" for the sine and cosine functions. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William Oughtred is the 117th most popular mathematician (up from 139th in 2019), the 600th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 690th in 2019) and the 12th most popular British Mathematician.

William Oughtred is most famous for his invention of the slide rule, a device that allowed people to do math without using an abacus.

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Among MATHEMATICIANS

Among mathematicians, William Oughtred ranks 117 out of 1,004. Before him are Grigori Perelman, Ctesibius, Pierre Louis Maupertuis, George Green, Leonid Kantorovich, and Alexander Friedmann. After him are Gabriel Cramer, Christopher Clavius, Madhava of Sangamagrama, Isaac Barrow, G. H. Hardy, and Nicomachus.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1574, William Oughtred ranks 5. Before him are Pope Innocent X, Handan Sultan, Maria Anna of Bavaria, and Anne of Denmark. After him are Frederick IV, Elector Palatine, Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania, Robert Fludd, Wilhelm Kettler, Feng Menglong, Qin Liangyu, and Elisabeth of Lorraine. Among people deceased in 1660, William Oughtred ranks 5. Before him are Diego Velázquez, Charles X Gustav of Sweden, Vincent de Paul, and Gaston, Duke of Orléans. After him are Judith Leyster, Pieter Claesz, Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, Francesco Albani, Louise de Marillac, Gevherhan Sultan, and George II Rákóczi.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William Oughtred ranks 600 out of 8,785. Before him are Christopher Nolan (1970), Richard Williamson (1940), Gary Moore (1952), Richard Attenborough (1923), David Lean (1908), and Thomas Carlyle (1795). After him are Tim Curry (1946), Charles Dance (1946), Ronald Coase (1910), Philip Sclater (1829), John E. Walker (1941), and John Collier (1850).

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Among MATHEMATICIANS In United Kingdom

Among mathematicians born in United Kingdom, William Oughtred ranks 12. Before him are John Couch Adams (1819), Thomas Harriot (1560), Frank P. Ramsey (1903), Joan Clarke (1917), John Wallis (1616), and George Green (1793). After him are Isaac Barrow (1631), G. H. Hardy (1877), Brook Taylor (1685), Annie S. D. Maunder (1868), Colin Maclaurin (1698), and Oliver Heaviside (1850).

British born Mathematicians

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