Back John Napier Afrikaans ጆን ኔፐር Amharic John Napier AN جون نابير Arabic جون نابير ARZ जॉन नेपियर AWA Con Neper Azerbaijani جان نپر AZB Джон Непер Bulgarian জন নেপিয়ার Bengali/Bangla
John Napier | |
|---|---|
 1616 portrait of Napier | |
| Born | 1 February 1550 |
| Died | 4 April 1617 (aged 67) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews |
| Known for | Logarithms Napier's bones Decimal notation Spherical trigonometry |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician |
John Napier of Merchiston (/ˈneɪpiər/ NAY-pee-ər;[1] Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston.
John Napier is best known as the discoverer of logarithms. He also invented the so-called "Napier's bones" and made common the use of the decimal point in arithmetic and mathematics.
Napier's birthplace, Merchiston Tower in Edinburgh, is now part of the facilities of Edinburgh Napier University. There is a memorial to him at St Cuthbert's at the west side of Edinburgh.[2]
- ^ "Napier" Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- ^ Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, 1871