William Rutherford (mathematician)

For other people named William Rutherford, see William Rutherford (disambiguation).

William Rutherford (1798â1871) was an English mathematician famous for his calculation of 208 digits of the mathematical constant Ï in 1841. Only the first 152 digits were later found to be correct. However, that still broke the world record of the time which was held by the Slovenian mathematician Jurij Vega since 1789 (126 first digits were correct)^[1] For the current world record, see Chronology_of_computation_of_Ï. Rutherford used the following formula:^[2]

${\pi\over 4} = 4 \arctan \left({1\over 5}\right) - \arctan \left({1\over 70}\right) %2B \arctan \left({1\over 99}\right)$

References and notes

^ Use of the symbol Ï - Department of Mathematics, University of Auckland
^ Squaring the Circle - Department of Mathematical Sciences University of Colorado at Denver

External links

"Rutherford, William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885â1900.

Persondata
Name	Rutherford, William
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1798
Place of birth
Date of death	1871
Place of death

William Rutherford (mathematician)

See also

References and notes

External links