A forgotten British analyst: Nicolas Vilant (1737-1807)

作者：Craik Alex D D^*

来源：Historia Mathematica, 2012, 39(2): 174-205.

DOI：10.1016/j.hm.2011.10.002

• Algebra
• Analysis
• Scotland

Nicolas Vilant (1737-1807) was Regius Professor of Mathematics at St Andrews University in Scotland during 1765-1807. Plagued by ill health, he was unable to teach for much of this time, and employed a series of assistants. Well versed in the British analytical tradition, he was, like his contemporaries, largely unaware of developments in the rest of Europe. However, he was a mathematician of some skill, and his textbook The Elements of Mathematical Analysis, A bridged, for the Use of Students is of interest for his view of analysis. Though he was unable to complete a more comprehensive work for publication, many manuscripts survive in St Andrews University Library. Vilant%26apos;s book and manuscripts and the reception of his work are here examined.

• 出版日期2012-5