Mathematicians  , Scientists and Artists throughout the Islamic Golden Age

Mathematicians and Scientists on the Page

• Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi

• Al-Battani (850-929)

• Abbas ibn Firnas(810-887) 

• Ibn Rushd (1126-1198)

• Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)

Arabic Mathematicians: Forgotten Brilliance? from the University of St. Andrews

Arab Contributions from Texas A&M University

Cross-Link: The History of Zero, Hindu-Arabic Numbers and Mayan Math

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (780-850)​

Wrote in Hindu-Arabic Numbers
First to Use Zero in Positional Base Notation
Worked in the House of Wisdom around 825 CE
Considered the Father of Algebra

For more on al-Khwarizmi, link to The Mathematical Legacy of Islam by Keith Devlin (July/August, 2002)

Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the Algebra of al-Khowarizmi (completed in the year 1145)

Origin of the Word Algebra. It is a Latin variant of the Arabic word al-jabr

• Algebra was also used non-mathematically in Alegbrista to mean bonesetter.
• Barbers in medieval times did bone-setting and bloodletting, hence the red and white stripes of barber poles.

Origins of Algebra

The House of Wisdom: Baghdad's Intellectual Powerhouse from 1001 Inventions

Al-Battani

Al-Battani (850-929)

Considered the Father of Trigonometry

Mathematics Timeline

Here is a timeline of Arabic-Islamic mathematicians timeline

Hindu-Arabic Numbers

Numeral figures used in the Bakhshali manuscript; discovered 1881

Arabic-Hindu Numerals and the Development of Modern Mathematics

Muslim Scientists

Abbas ibn Firnas(810-887), Inventor, Engineer, Poet

• Attempted to fly using hand-made wings in 875; what the Wright Brothers would also attempt to do centuries later

• A crater on the moon and the airport in Baghdad are named in his honor

A Medieval First in Flight: Visualizing Abbas Ibn Firnas and the Art of Early Aviation

Ibn Rushd (1126-1198), Philosopher and Scholar

• Helped bridge the gap between theologians and philosophers.

• There was great dispute between the two groups before Ibn Rushd helped mediate, and bring the two groups closer together.

• Ibn Rushd also distinguished seven attributes of humans, being "These attributes are: knowledge, life, power, will, hearing, vision and speech."

Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)

• Ibn Khaldun is referred to by many as one of, if not the greatest intellectuals to ever exist in the Arab world.

• Khaldun is most renowned for his works entitled, Muqaddima, which is a study of history.

• Khaldun is also known for working with Timur aka Tamerlane, the founder of the Timurid Empire. 

For More Muslim Scientists and Philosophers click here