Mathematician:Christopher Clavius

Mathematician

German jesuit and logician.

Best known for:

• Clavius's Law (also written as Clavius' Law), otherwise known as the Consequentia Mirabilis, which states that if by assuming the negation of a proposition you can prove its truth, then that proposition is true.
• Being instrumental in the development of the Gregorian calendar.
• Writing highly-acclaimed and well-received text-books.

Nationality

German

History

• Born: 25 March 1538 in Bamberg, Bavaria (now in Germany)
• Died: 2 Feb 1612 in Rome (now in Italy)

Theorems

• Clavius's Law

Results named for Christopher Clavius can be found here.

Publications

• 1574: Published a version of Euclid's The Elements, which included some original material of his own, including Clavius's Law
• 1593: In sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco Commentarius
• 1595: Novi calendarii romani apologia (an argument in favour of the Gregorian calendar, which had been the cause of civil unrest)
• 1608: Algebra

• Christophori Clavii e Scoietate Jesu opera mathematica, quinque tomis distributa, a five-volume edition of his collected works, containing the above works and others. Also of note:
  • An edition of Sphaerics by Theodosius of Bithynia.
  • A commentary on the Tractatus de Sphaera by John of Holywood.

Sources

• John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "Christopher Clavius": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive