Provided by the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, MacTutor is a comprehensive archive that contains biographies of over 1100 mathematicians, from Niels Abel to Antoni Zygmund. Mathematicians can be accessed alphabetically or chronologically. Biographies contain birth and death information, along with a synopsis of the mathematician's work and references. The site also contains a history topics...

This British website developed by Earl Fife or Larry Husch provides a database of information on Applied Mathematics. Visitors can search by keyword or scroll through by topics, such as History of Mathematics, Industrial Mathematics, Linear & Nonlinear Programming, Multivariable Calculus, or Ordinary Differential Equations among others. Icons let you know how the websites present the information...

Readers who appreciate mathematics or are fond of historical trivia may enjoy visiting the On This Day feature provided by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). This fun educational tool allows visitors to choose any day in the calendar year and presents them with a selection of historical events related to mathematics that occurred on that day. These events range from birth and death...

During the 3rd century BCE, the scientist Archimedes began to explore the emerging field of mathematics (including the concept of infinity), along with developing elaborate war machines for use by his native Syracuse against the Romans. This new Web site (along with its accompanying NOVA television program) explores his life and the recent discovery in a Parisian apartment of his manuscript,...

Parents often scoff at the powerful calculators their children use for math classes, noting that they had to learn with slide rules. A device that predates both tools, however, is the focus of this unique site. The abacus has roots in the fifth century B.C., and still sees limited use in various parts of the world. A very thorough overview is provided online, with interactive applets that teach...

Trinity College in Ireland hosts this site about the History of Mathematics. Rather than identifying key discoveries and theorems, the site mainly gives accounts of many prominent mathematicians and focuses on their research and contributions. Most material deals with the period between the 17th and 19th centuries, a time that produced many ideas that form the basis of modern mathematics. Some...

Created and maintained by John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson of the University of St. Andrews, this site contains a cornucopia of materials related to the history of mathematics and well-known mathematicians through the ages. Users can start by clicking on the biography index and diving right into short biographies of noted mathematicians arranged alphabetically and chronologically. Moving...

Does knowing about Descartes help students understand the Cartesian coordinate system? Will teaching students the origin of the term parabola help them understand the mathematical importance of parabolas and other related matters? A team of mathematicians at Black Hills State University were curious about such matters, so they decided to investigate what the effects of including historical modules...