ABU JA‘FAR MOHAMMED IBN MUSA AL-KHOWARIZMI
ABU JA‘FAR MOHAMMED IBN MUSA AL-KHOWARIZMI (C. 780 – C. 850) al-Khowarizmi, an astronomer and mathematician, was a member of the House of Wisdom, an academy of scientists in Baghdad.
The name al-Khowarizmi means “from the town of Kowarzizm,” which was then part of Persia, but is now
called Khiva and is part of Uzbekistan. al-Khowarizmi wrote books on mathematics, astronomy, and geography.
Western Europeans first learned about algebra from his works. The word algebra comes from al-jabr, part of
the title of his book Kitab al-jabr w’al muquabala. This book was translated into Latin and was a widely used
textbook. His book on the use of Hindu numerals describes procedures for arithmetic operations using these
numerals. European authors used a Latin corruption of his name, which later evolved to the word algorithm, to
describe the subject of arithmetic with Hindu numerals.
The name al-Khowarizmi means “from the town of Kowarzizm,” which was then part of Persia, but is now
called Khiva and is part of Uzbekistan. al-Khowarizmi wrote books on mathematics, astronomy, and geography.
Western Europeans first learned about algebra from his works. The word algebra comes from al-jabr, part of
the title of his book Kitab al-jabr w’al muquabala. This book was translated into Latin and was a widely used
textbook. His book on the use of Hindu numerals describes procedures for arithmetic operations using these
numerals. European authors used a Latin corruption of his name, which later evolved to the word algorithm, to
describe the subject of arithmetic with Hindu numerals.
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