Definition:Pi/Historical Note/Notation/Mistake

Source Work

1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers:

The Dictionary

$3 \cdotp 14159 \, 26535 \, 89793 \, 23846 \, 26433 \, 83279 \, 50288 \, 41972 \ldots$

1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.):

The Dictionary

$3 \cdotp 14159 \, 26535 \, 89793 \, 23846 \, 26433 \, 83279 \, 50288 \, 41971 \ldots$

Mistake

Euler, who first used the Greek letter $\pi$ in its modern sense, ...

Recently it has come to light that it was not Leonhard Paul Euler who made this innovation, but William Jones in $1706$, in his Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos.

However, it was Euler who popularised it, by using it in his Introductio in Analysin Infinitorum of $1748$, which proved influential.

Sources

• 1986: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): $3 \cdotp 14159 \, 26535 \, 89793 \, 23846 \, 26433 \, 83279 \, 50288 \, 41972 \ldots$
• 1997: David Wells: Curious and Interesting Numbers (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $3 \cdotp 14159 \, 26535 \, 89793 \, 23846 \, 26433 \, 83279 \, 50288 \, 41971 \ldots$