History of Mathematics : An Introduction

A History of Mathematics, 3rd Edition provides a solid background in the history of mathematics and focuses on the most important topics for today's elementary, high school and college curricula. Students will gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in their historical context, and future teachers will find this book a valuable resource in developing lesson plans based on the history of each topic.

This title is part of the Pearson Modern Classics series. Pearson Modern Classics are acclaimed titles at a value price.

About our author

Victor J. Katz received his PhD in mathematics from Brandeis University in 1968. He is now a Professor of Mathematics emeritus at the University of the District of Columbia, where he taught for 37 years. He has long been interested in the history of mathematics, and particularly in its use in teaching. He has edited or co-edited 3 books dealing with this subject: Learn from the Masters (1994), Using History to Teach Mathematics: An International Perspective (2000), and Recent Developments on Introducing a Historical Dimension in Mathematics Education (2011). He is also the editor of 3 sourcebooks in mathematics: The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India and Islam: A Sourcebook (2007), Sourcebook in the Mathematics of Medieval Europe and North Africa (2016), and Sourcebook in the Mathematics of Ancient Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean (2024).

Dr. Katz also co-edited 2 volumes of historical articles taken from MAA journals of the past 100 years: Sherlock Holmes in Babylon and Other Tales of Mathematical History and Who Gave You the Epsilon? & Other Tales of Mathematical History. He co-directed the NSF-sponsored projects entitled the Institute in the History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching designed to help college teachers learn the history of mathematics and how to use it in teaching. This project also included secondary school teachers, who ultimately wrote materials using the history of mathematics in the teaching of numerous topics in the high-school curriculum. These materials (Historical Modules for the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics) have been published by the MAA. With the late Frank Swetz, he was the founding editor of Convergence, the MAA's online magazine devoted to the history of mathematics and its use in teaching (a magazine now more than 20 years old). In 2023, Dr. Katz received the MAA's Yueh-Gin Gung and Charles Y. Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics.

Dr. Katz had been married for 55 years to Dr. Phyllis Katz, herself an accomplished researcher in science education outside of schools. Together they have 3 adult children and 8 grandchildren.