Famous Algebraists of the World: A Journey Through the Development Of Algebra

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Algebra, one of the broad components of mathematics, finds its application in varied fields of science & technology. Many of the calculations that we do in our day to day life like finding distance, volume or area of an object, solving puzzles like Sudoku, are based on algebra. It is extensively used in advanced technologies of data communication, coding, weather predictions, health care systems, etc.

The book introduces the reader to some of the greatest algebraists and their remarkable contributions to this field of mathematics. In doing so, it also looks at the history and development of algebra. The book will be of interest to students and teachers of mathematics, as well as those interested in algebra.

Mahesh Dube is a former Professor of mathematics. His research interests include Lie groups and Special functions. He has also a keen interest in literature, culture, history and philosophy. He has published a number of articles on the history of mathematics. He is also associated with Indian Academy of Mathematics and Vigyan Prakash, a magazine published by Vishwa Hindi Nyas (Oswego, USA).

KK Sharma is former vice principal of College of Education, Ajmer. He did his doctorate in chemistry and has a teaching experience of over 35 years. He is also associated with several organisations like NCERT, ICICI Foundation, Youth Hostel Association of India, Bird Conservation Society, Ajmer, among others. He has authored a number of books as well as has translated several books from Hindi to English and vice versa.

My interest in the history of mathematics and biographies of mathematicians began during my student life. The books like Men of Mathematics by ET Bell further enhanced this interest. While teaching subjects like mathematical analysis, abstract algebra and major theory and Lebesgue integration in the classes, I mentioned the biographies of mathematicians and the sequence of historical development of the subject in my lectures. The response of my students was encouraging. In the 40 years of my teaching life, I had the opportunity to study a corpus of literature on the history of mathematics.

The books like Great Mathematicians of the World of Gunakar Mule and Algebra in Ancient and Modern Times of Vardarajan influenced me a lot. As a result, a series of articles focused on the life and works of algebraists with the title 'Journey of Development of Algebra' got prepared. The present book is a collection of these articles.

In the book, biographies of algebraists are given in a sequence. This will help in giving readers the knowledge about the sequence of development of algebra. Along with the biography, an attempt has been made to give a simple and brief description of the works of the algebraists as far as possible. Under the heading 'Successors of Galois' brief information is given about the mathematicians like Sophus Lie, Andre Weil and Jacobson.