en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadratic_equation
1 correction found
The quadratic formula covering all cases was first obtained by Simon Stevin in 1594.
This overstates Simon Stevin's priority. Histories of mathematics describe earlier complete European treatments of quadratic equations, and note that Stevin still treated separate cases rather than the fully general modern formula.
Full reasoning
Two independent history-of-mathematics sources contradict this statement.
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MacTutor History of Mathematics says Abraham bar Hiyya's Liber embadorum (1145) was "the first book published in Europe to give the complete solution of the quadratic equation." That directly undercuts the claim that Simon Stevin was the first to obtain the all-cases formula in 1594.
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An AMS Feature Column on the history of the quadratic formula says the modern formula students memorize today is an 18th-century development, and specifically notes that Stevin still treated three separate types of quadratic equations and did not entertain negative solutions. In other words, Stevin's work was important, but it was not yet the fully general, all-cases quadratic formula implied here.
Because reliable histories place complete quadratic solutions before 1594 and describe Stevin's treatment as still case-by-case, the claim that he "first obtained" the all-cases quadratic formula is inaccurate.
2 sources
- Quadratic, cubic and quartic equations - MacTutor History of Mathematics
Abraham bar Hiyya Ha-Nasi ... is famed for his book Liber embadorum published in 1145 which is the first book published in Europe to give the complete solution of the quadratic equation.
- Completing the Square - Feature Column
The quadratic formula students memorize today is an 18th century AD development ... Stevin ... considers separately three types of quadratic equations ... and does not entertain negative solutions.