Mathematical Treasure: Rafael Bombell’s L’algebra parte maggiore dell’aritmetica divisa in tre libri

Rafael Bombelli (1526–1572) was an Italian mathematician noted for his books on algebra. His L'algebra parte maggiore dell’aritmetica divisa in tre libri (Algebra, a major part of arithmetic, divided into three books), published in 1572, was a popular reference for many years—indeed, two copies of a 1579 printing can be found in Convergence here and here. Bombelli intended to prepare five books, but he died before completing the final two sections. Nonetheless, the work represented an important advance in the understanding of complex numbers.

His writing style was simple and direct, intended for the common folk. Here are some sample pages:

A full digitization is available from Museo Galileo.

Index to Mathematical Treasures