Mathematical Treasure: Thomas Simpson’s Select Exercises for Young Proficients in the Mathematicks

Despite his variety of duties and responsibilities (such as the Ladies’ Diary), Thomas Simpson (1710–1761) saw himself mainly as a teacher of mathematics. In 1752 he published Select Exercises for Young Proficients in the Mathematicks, in which he considered some of the important aspects of problem solving in the time period.

Some sample problem sets from the text:

The introduction to Simpson’s discussion of fluxions:

A full digitization of its copy is available from the Wellcome Library.

A new edition was issued 40 years later, in 1792, by another prolific British textbook author, Charles Hutton. Hutton added a biography of Simpson but otherwise largely reprinted the original book intact. A notable feature of the copy shown below is that it was owned by Samuel Webber (1759–1810), Harvard College Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Webber’s 1801 compendium textbook may also be viewed in Mathematical Treasures.

The book’s preface is Simpson’s original 1752 preface.

Hutton’s biography includes Simpson’s horoscope.

A full digitization of this copy, now owned by the University of Michigan, is available from GoogleBooks.

Index to Mathematical Treasures