Gulielmus Oughtred Anglus (frontispiece from Oughtred's "The Key of the Mathematicks New Forged and Filed," 1647)

Wenceslaus Hollar Bohemian
Sitter The Rev. William Oughtred British
Related author The Rev. William Oughtred British

Not on view

This hallf-length portrait of the rector and mathematician, William Oughtred, shows the sitter at seventy-three, wearing a skull-cap, collar and gown, and holding a book. He is credited with creating the slide rule in 1622, which allowed for direct multiplication and division, with introducing "x" to signify mulplification, and the abbreviations "sin" and "cos" for sine and cosine.

Gulielmus Oughtred Anglus (frontispiece from Oughtred's "The Key of the Mathematicks New Forged and Filed," 1647), Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, Prague 1607–1677 London), Etching and drypoint, only state

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