Definition:Derivative/Notation/Leibniz Notation/Historical Note

From ProofWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Historical Note on Leibniz's Notation for Derivative

Leibniz's notation for a derivative came at about the same time that the manuscript dated $29$th October $1675$ in which the notation for the integral had been devised.

At the same time he introduced the differential symbol $\d$.

Thus he was soon writing $\d x$, $\d y$, and $\dfrac {\d y} {\d x}$ soon followed.


In his $1684$ article Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis, published in Acta Eruditorum, he casually drops the notation in place with very little explanation.


Sources