en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_(mathematical_constant)
1 correction found
1685
Jacob Bernoulli is generally credited with discovering the constant e in 1683, not 1685. The year 1685 is associated with an early publication/mention, not the discovery itself.
Full reasoning
This date appears under the infobox field “Discovered”, so it claims the constant was discovered in 1685. But standard histories of mathematics date Bernoulli’s discovery of the constant to 1683, when he encountered it in the compound-interest problem.
Two independent sources support 1683:
- The Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute says that “the first discovery of the number (e) was made by Jacob Bernoulli in 1683.”
- A Mathematical Association of America historical note says that “In 1683, Jacob Bernoulli essentially found (e).”
So the infobox’s discovery date is off by two years. 1685 is better understood as the date of an early publication/mention, not the date Bernoulli first discovered the constant.
2 sources
- History and applications
Although some related ideas appeared in earlier works, arguably the first `discovery' of the number \(e\) was made by Jacob Bernoulli in 1683, in considering compound interest.
- Euler’s Rediscovery of e
In 1683, Jacob Bernoulli essentially found e.