Introduction

Abstract

IN 1964 at the World’s Fair in New York City one room was dedicated solely to mathematics. The display included a very attractive and informative mural, about 13 feet long, sponsored by one of the largest computer manufacturing companies and presenting a brief survey of the history of mathematics. Entitled, “Men of Modern Mathematics,” it gives an outline of the development of that science from approximately 1000 B.C. to the year of the exhibition. The first centuries of this time span are illustrated by pictures from the history of art and, in particular, architecture; the period since 1500 is illuminated by portraits of mathematicians, including brief descriptions of their lives and professional achievements. Close to eighty portraits are crowded into a space of about fourteen square feet; among them, only one is of a woman.