John Napier
Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (1550-1617) · United Kingdom · Academics · Died at 67
John Napier is read about 433 times a day, in 80 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He invented the mathematical tool that turned multiplication into addition - logarithms - and in doing so gave astronomers, navigators, and engineers centuries of faster calculation before the first computer switched on.
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In their own words 10
, 10 Proposition. The last Trumpet and Viall beginneth anno Christe 1541 and should end in anno Christi 1786.
The First Proposition. In propheticall dates of daies, weekes, moneths, and yeares, everie common propheticall day is taken for a yeare.
2. Proposition. The Seven Trumpets of the 8. and 9. chapters, and the Seven Vials of the 16. Chapter, are all one.
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John Napier was born 1 February 1550 at Merchiston Tower in Edinburgh, the 8th Laird of Merchiston and a Scottish landowner who spent his life working the edges of mathematics and astronomy. He discovered logarithms, a breakthrough that collapsed complex computation into something manageable by hand. He also invented Napier's bones, a calculating device, and championed the decimal point in arithmetic - small moves that reshaped how numbers were written and used. Nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, he died 4 April 1617, leaving behind tools that outlasted him by centuries. His birthplace is now part of Edinburgh Napier University, and a memorial stands at St Cuthbert's Parish Church in the city's heart.
Academics from the United Kingdom 6
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