Al-Khawarizmi
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AL-KHAWARIZMI
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a
Persian mathematician, astronomer, astrologer geographer and a scholar in the
House of Wisdom in Baghdad. He was born in Persia of that time around 780.
Al-Khwarizmi was one of the learned men who worked in the House of Wisdom.
Al-Khwarizmi flourished while working as a member of the House of Wisdom in
Baghdad under the leadership of Kalif al-Mamun, the son of the Khalif Harun
al-Rashid, who was made famous in the Arabian Nights. The House of Wisdom was a
scientific research and teaching center.
Al-Khwarizmi developed the concept of
the algorithm in mathematics (which is a reason for his being called the
grandfather of computer science by some people).
Some words reflect the importance of
al-Khwārizmī's contributions to mathematics. "Algebra" is derived
from al-jabr, one of the
two operations he used to solve quadratic equations. Algorism and algorithm stem from Algoritmi,
the Latin form of his name. His
name is also the origin of (Spanish) quarismo and of (Portuguese) algarismo, both meaning digit.
Al-Khwarizmi’s algebra is regarded as
the foundation and cornerstone of the sciences. To al-Khwarizmi we owe the
world “algebra,” from the title of his greatest mathematical work, Hisab
al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabala. The book, which was twice translated into Latin, by
both Gerard of Cremona and Robert of Chester in the 12th century, works out
several hundred simple quadratic equations by analysis as well as by
geometrical example. It also has substantial sections on methods of dividing up
inheritances and surveying plots of land. It is largely concerned with methods
for solving practical computational problems rather than algebra as the term is
now understood.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi died in
c. 850 being remembered as one of the most seminal scientific minds of early
Islamic culture.
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