John Napier began his formal education at St. Salvator's College in St. Andrews in 1563. During this time, Scotland was under the rule of the Catholic, Mary Queen of Scots. Her arrival from France two years previously, had degenerated political and religious divisions in the country. John Napier, growing up in a Protestant family, would have been well aware of the theological conflicts of the day.
In the late 16th century advances in astronomy were hampered by laborious calculations. Napier set out to solve this problem. He described the motivation for years of study that finally resulted in the invention of Logarithms: `there is nothing . . . that is so troublesome to mathematical practice. . . than the multiplications, divisions, square and cubical extractions of great numbers, . . . I began therefore to consider in my mind by what certain and ready art I might remove these hindrances. . .' (Napier, 1616)
Napier's book revolutionized mathematics and astronomy. The log tables allowed complex calculations to be carried out by simple processes of addition, subtraction and division. The relevance of his discovery was immediately recognized by other mathematicians and astronomers. Napier's Logs directly aided the work of Johannes Kelper (1571-1630) who was developing his theory of the Solar System, and also indirectly influenced the work of Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) in his work on the theory of gravity.
Napier also invented an ingenious calculating tool which allowed speedy calculations. Napier's Bones, as these numbered rods became known, were revealed to the world in 1617 with the posthumous publication of his treatise, Rabdologie. The `bones' were in common use for at least 200 years after Napier's death in 1617. Napier's contribution to mathematics and science is universally acknowledged but in recent years his `bones' have finally been put to rest as computers and calculators have replaced the use of log tables in everyday mathematical calculation.
Napier also wrote prophetically of various infernal war engines; accompanying his writings with plans and diagrams. He predicted the future would develop a piece of artillery that could "clear a field of four miles circumference of all living creatures exceeding a foot of height." that it would produce "devices for sayling under water," and that it would create a chariot with "a living mouth of mettle" that would "scatter destruction on all sides." In World War I, these were realized as the machine gun, the submarine, and the army tank, respectively. It is no wonder that Napier's remarkable ingenuity and imagination led some to believe he was mentally unbalanced and others to regard him as a dealer in the black art. Many stories, probably unfounded, are told in support of these views. Once he announced that his coal-black rooster would identify for him which of his servants was stealing from him. The servants were sent one by one into a darkened room with instructions to pat the rooster on the back. Unknown to the servants, Napier had coated the bird's back with lampblack, and the guilty servant, fearing to touch the rooster, returned with clean hands.
There was also the occasion when Napier became annoyed by his neighbor's pigeons eating his grain. He threatened to impound the birds if his neighbor did not restrict their flight. The neighbor, believing the capture of his pigeons to be virtually impossible, told Napier that he was welcome to the birds if he could them. The next day, the surprised neighbor observed his pigeons staggering on Napier's lawn with Napier calmly collecting them into a large sack.
Napier had rendered the birds drunk by scattering some brandy-soaked peas about his lawn. As relaxation from his political and religious polemics, Napier amused himself with the study of mathematics and science, with the result that four products of his genius are now recorded in history of mathematics. These are the invention of logarithms; a clever mnemonic, known as the rule of circular parts, for reproducing the formulas used in solving right spherical triangles; at least two trigonometric formulas of a group of four known as Napier's analogies, useful in the solution of oblique spherical triangles; and the invention of a device, called Napier's rods, or Napier's bones, used for mechanically multiplying, dividing, and taking square roots of numbers.
John Napier ---> 1550 -- 1617
Mathematician, the inventor of logarithms, born at Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh, EC
Scotland, UK. He studied at St Andrews, traveled in Europe, then settled down to a life of
literary and scientific study. He described his famous invention in Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio (1614, Description of the Marvellous Canon of Logarithms), and also devised a calculating machine, using a set of rods called Napier's bones.