John Machin, baptised around 1686 and dead in 1751, was an English professor of astronomy at Gresham College in London from 1713 until his death and secretary of the Royal Society from 1718 to 1747. In 1706 he developed a quickly converging series for pi, now called Machin's formula, which combines arctangents of one fifth and one two hundred and thirty ninth, and used it to compute pi to one hundred decimal places. His formula remained the main tool of people hunting digits of pi for centuries, well into the computer era, and several similar formulae are known. He also sat on the commission that judged the calculus priority dispute between Leibniz and Newton in 1712. Sources differ on the year of his birth, and the date given here is the year of baptism stated in the Wikipedia article.
Facts
Contribution Kind Highest HonourFellow of the Royal Society 2 Notable WorkMachin formula for pi (1706) 1 Connections
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Source John Machin (Wikipedia)
Source John Machin (Wikipedia)
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Source MacTutor History of Mathematics: John MachinBiography, leadQuote, Biography, lead
John Machin was an English mathematician and astronomer
Sources
1. John Machin (Wikipedia)
Lead, baptism year
John Machin (bapt. c. 1686, June 9, 1751) was a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London.
Lead, death
John Machin (bapt. c. 1686, June 9, 1751) was a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London.
Lead, pi series
He is best known for developing a quickly converging series for pi in 1706 and using it to compute pi to 100 decimal places.
Lead, notable work
He is best known for developing a quickly converging series for pi in 1706 and using it to compute pi to 100 decimal places.
In Field: Numerical analysis, Lead, field
He is best known for developing a quickly converging series for pi in 1706 and using it to compute pi to 100 decimal places.
In Group: Algorithm Design and Analysis, Lead, group
He is best known for developing a quickly converging series for pi in 1706 and using it to compute pi to 100 decimal places.
Affiliated With: Gresham College, Lead, Gresham College
John Machin (bapt. c. 1686, June 9, 1751) was a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London.
Affiliated With: Royal Society, History, Royal Society
John Machin served as secretary of the Royal Society from 1718 to 1747.
View the Source2. MacTutor History of Mathematics: John Machin
MacTutor History of MathematicsBiography, lead
John Machin was an English mathematician and astronomer
Honours
Fellow of the Royal Society 1710
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