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MATHEMATICIAN

William Oughtred

1574 - 1660

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William Oughtred (5 March 1574 – 30 June 1660), also Owtred, Uhtred, etc., was an English mathematician and Anglican clergyman. After John Napier invented logarithms and Edmund Gunter created the logarithmic scales (lines, or rules) upon which slide rules are based, Oughtred was the first to use two such scales sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division. He is credited with inventing the slide rule in about 1622. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Oughtred has received more than 262,588 page views. His biography is available in 36 different languages on Wikipedia. William Oughtred is the 139th most popular mathematician (down from 125th in 2019), the 715th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 626th in 2019) and the 16th most popular British Mathematician.

William Oughtred is most famous for his invention of the slide rule, a device that allowed people to do math without using an abacus.

Memorability Metrics

  • 260k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.96

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 36

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.63

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.76

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

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Among MATHEMATICIANS

Among mathematicians, William Oughtred ranks 139 out of 823. Before him are Michel Rolle, Liu Hui, Robert Grosseteste, Jacques Hadamard, Joseph Liouville, and Giambattista della Porta. After him are Vincenzo Viviani, Robert Aumann, Johannes Trithemius, Arthur Cayley, Sophus Lie, and James Joseph Sylvester.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1574, William Oughtred ranks 5. Before him are Pope Innocent X, Handan Sultan, Anne of Denmark, and Maria Anna of Bavaria. After him are Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania, Robert Fludd, Frederick IV, Elector Palatine, Wilhelm Kettler, Feng Menglong, Elisabeth of Lorraine, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt. Among people deceased in 1660, William Oughtred ranks 10. Before him are Gaston, Duke of Orléans, Judith Leyster, Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, Pieter Claesz, Gevherhan Sultan, and Francesco Albani. After him are Ayşe Sultan, Paul Scarron, George II Rákóczi, Louise de Marillac, Alexandre de Rhodes, and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Electress of Brandenburg.

Others Born in 1574

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Others Deceased in 1660

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, William Oughtred ranks 715 out of 7,765. Before him are Banksy (1970), Rosemary Harris (1927), Edward B. Titchener (1867), Andrew Huxley (1917), Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809), and John Kendrew (1917). After him are Kim Cattrall (1956), John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924), Thomas Malory (1405), George Martin (1926), Willibrord (658), and John Paul Jones (1946).

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Among MATHEMATICIANS In United Kingdom

Among mathematicians born in United Kingdom, William Oughtred ranks 16. Before him are G. H. Hardy (1877), Isaac Barrow (1631), Andrew Wiles (1953), Brook Taylor (1685), Oliver Heaviside (1850), and Robert Grosseteste (1175). After him are Arthur Cayley (1821), James Joseph Sylvester (1814), James Gregory (1638), Colin Maclaurin (1698), Michael Atiyah (1929), and Henry Briggs (1561).

British born Mathematicians

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