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Gerald James Toomer (born 23 November 1934) is a
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
of
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
and mathematics who has written numerous books and papers on ancient Greek and medieval Islamic astronomy. In particular, he translated
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
's '' Almagest'' into English. Formerly a fellow of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
, he moved to Brown University as a special student in 1959 to study "the history of mathematics in antiquity and the transmission of these systems through Arabic into medieval Europe." He joined the History of Mathematics department in 1963, became an associate professor in 1965, and was the chairman from 1980 to 1986..


Some works

* Diocles: ''On Burning Mirrors. The Arabic Translation of the Lost Greek Original.'' ed., with English translation and commentary by G. J. Toomer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 1976 (Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, 1). . * Apollonius: ''Conics, books V to VII.'' The Arabic translation of the lost Greek original in the version of the Banū Mūsā. In two volumes. Ed. with transl. and commentary by G. J. Toomer. Springer, New York, Berlin, Heidelberg, Springer (Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, 9). . * "Lost Greek mathematical works in Arabic translation." '' Mathematical Intelligencer'', volume 6, 1984, pages 32–38. * ''Ptolemy's Almagest'', translated and annotated by G. J. Toomer. Duckworth, London & Springer, New York 1984. . Revised edn. Univ. Pr., Princeton, 1998, . * ''
Hipparchus Hipparchus (; el, Ἵππαρχος, ''Hipparkhos'';  BC) was a Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician. He is considered the founder of trigonometry, but is most famous for his incidental discovery of the precession of the equi ...
and
Babylonian Astronomy Babylonian astronomy was the study or recording of celestial objects during the early history of Mesopotamia. Babylonian astronomy seemed to have focused on a select group of stars and constellations known as Ziqpu stars. These constellations ...
.'' In: Erle Leichty, Maria de J. Ellis, Pamel Gerardi: ''A Scientific Humanist: Studies in Memory of Abraham Sachs.'' Philadelphia: Occasional Publications of the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund, 9, 1988. * ''Eastern Wisedome and Learning. The study of Arabic in 17th century England.'' Oxford University Press 1996. * ''
John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned ...
. A life in scholarship.'' Oxford University Press, 2009.


See also

*
Ptolemy's table of chords The table of chords, created by the Greek astronomer, geometer, and geographer Ptolemy in Egypt during the 2nd century AD, is a trigonometric table in Book I, chapter 11 of Ptolemy's ''Almagest'', a treatise on mathematical astronomy. It ...


References


External links

*
History of the History of Mathematics Department
at Brown University {{DEFAULTSORT:Toomer, Gerald J. Historians of astronomy British historians of mathematics Historians of science 1934 births Living people Writers from Aldershot Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Brown University faculty Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy