Brook Taylor

Elif Demir

Brook Taylor, born on 18 August 1685, was a highly acclaimed mathematician who is best known for his famous Taylor’s Theorem, which eventually became the elementary tool for any mathematical analysis along with Taylor’s series. During his early college years, he came up with the solution for one of the mathematic’s primary problems "center of oscillation." With his book Methodus Incrementorum Directa et Inversa (1715; “Direct and Indirect Methods of Incrementation"), Taylor contributed to higher mathematics by adding a different branch of “calculus of finite differences."

Besides its other real-life applications, Taylor used this branch to detect the movement of a vibrating string, which eventually led to a satisfactory understanding of astronomical refraction due to its mechanical principles. Apart from that, those mechanical principles mentioned above were also established by Brook Taylor. The article published in the early eighteenth century also contained the well-known theorem, which was later named Taylor’s Theorem. However, its usefulness and importance for the brand-new branch of mathematics caught its fame in 1772 when Lagrange called it “the main foundation of differential calculus.” He was elected as a committee chair to the Royal Society in 1712. From there forward, his articles took more of a philosophical and religious turn. He died on 29 December 1731 in London. As an honorary mention, his name is given to the impact crater on the Moon.

References

Jopling, Joseph; Taylor, Brook (1835). "Memoirs of the Life of the Author". Dr. Brook Taylor's Principles of Linear Perspective. London: M. Taylor. pp. v–xii.

"Taylor, Brook (TLR701B)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.