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1544
Michael Stifel Coins the Word Exponent
The word exponent was coined in 1544 by Michael Stifel, a German monk and mathematician (McKay, n.d). -
John Napier Discovers Logarithms and Laws With An Algebraic Approach
The Scottish mathematician John Napier published his discovery of logarithms; the purpose was to assist in the multiplication of quantities that were then called sines (Murray, 2019). Napier's approach was algebraic (MccKay, n.d.). -
First Appearance of Natural Logarithms
Though the earliest natural logarithms first appeared in 1618, their significance was not realized until much later (McKay, n.d.). -
Joost Burgi Discovers Logarithms With a Geometric Approach
The first table based on the concept of relating geometric and arithmetic sequences was published in Prague by the Swiss mathematician Joost Bürgi (Murray, 2019). -
Napier and Briggs Create a System of Logarithms
A common system of logarithms was born through the collaboration of Napier and Henry Biggs (McKay, n.d.). -
Logarithms Defined as Exponents
John Wallis realized that logarithms could be defined as exponents (Fogleman, 2005). -
Bernoulli Also Recognizes That Logarithms Can Be Defined as Exponents
Johann Bernoulli also realized that logarithms could be defined as exponents (Fogleman, 2005). -
Euler Discovers Natural Exponential
Euler was Swiss and spoke French, so he might have called the function "le Logarithme Naturel", rather than "the natural log", in which case, "ln" makes sense (Stapel, n.d.). -
Today Exponential and Logarithms
These functions are utilized in higher mathematics and they also have applications in science, engineering, and business (McKay, n.d.).
