Pedro Nunes (1502-1578): His Lost Algebra and Other Discoveries (American University Studies)

Pedro Nunes played a major part in the discovery of the world by Portuguese mariners. In this book, his mathematical and scientific achievements are described, together with evidence on his life and friends arising from a collection of his Greek and Latin poems, and from religious notes he composed during his later years. An English version of his long-lost Portuguese algebra is included, as well as poems and letters by his friends translated into English for the first time. These discoveries came from a manuscript recently found in the municipal library of Évora, the perfectly preserved Renaissance city that in Nunes' day was the home of King John III.