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Mathematical Treasure: Oliver Byrne’s Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry
Oliver Byrne (1810-1890) was a British civil engineer and a prolific and innovative author of mathematics and science books. He is best known for his experimental edition of Euclid’s Elements (1847). This is his Short Practical Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry (1835).
At the beginning of the text, on pages 3 to 6, Byrne introduced a technique for orienting spherical triangles using one’s hand.
Pages 29-31 provide further elaboration on this method of finger-referencing in working with spherical triangles.
This material is obtained through the courtesy of the University of California Libraries. A complete digital copy can be read on the Internet Archive.
Frank J. Swetz (The Pennsylvania State University), "Mathematical Treasure: Oliver Byrne’s Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry," Convergence (February 2017)
