Mathematical Treasure: Dodson's Mathematical Repository

James Dodson (ca.  1705–1757) was an English mathematician and actuary who taught both subjects to private students. Dodson had the famous mathematician Abraham de Moivre as his teacher. He published collections of mathematical problems under the title The Mathematical Repository. Volume I appeared in 1748 and Volume II in 1753. Both volumes contained a variety of “analytical problems” mainly solvable through algebraic techniques. Volume III, published in 1755, was devoted to the solution of actuarial problems.

Here is a sampling of problems from the first volume:

 Below is the title page and the first three pages from the second volume:

The title page of the third volume:

The images above from Dodson's Mathematical Repository were obtained through the courtesy of the Swiss digital archive e-rara.

Index to Mathematical Treasures