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Mathematical Treasure: F. G. Hill’s Arabic Numerals in Europe

Author(s): 
Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University)

Sir Francis George Hill (1867-1948), the author of The Development of Arabic Numerals in Europe (1915), was born in Bengal, India. He returned to England to become a noted art historian, a specialist in Renaissance medals, and, eventually, Director of the British Museum. His book traces the evolution of the Hindu-Arabic number symbols in Europe, documented by 64 tables of emerging symbols. Many of these numerals are imprints of rubbings obtained from existing monuments.

Here are two typical tables from the book.

This material was obtained through the courtesy of the Peabody Library of Johns Hopkins University.

Index to Mathematical Treasures

Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University), "Mathematical Treasure: F. G. Hill’s Arabic Numerals in Europe," Convergence (July 2016)