Hayes - Treatise of fluxions or, an Introduction to mathematical philosophy, 1704 - 1465473

Charles Hayes (1678–1760) was an English slave-trader,

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and chronologist, author of an early book on the

method of fluxions ''Method of Fluxions'' ( la, De Methodis Serierum et Fluxionum) is a mathematical treatise by Sir Isaac Newton which served as the earliest written formulation of modern calculus. The book was completed in 1671, and published in 1736. Fluxion ...

. He was also a long-term official and defender of the Royal African Company, one of the earliest slave-trading companies established in Britain.

Life

Hayes was a member of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. Having made a voyage to Africa and spent some time there, he had a reputation as a geographer, and was chosen annually to be sub-governor or deputy-governor of the Royal African Company. When the Royal African Company was dissolved in 1752, Hayes settled at Downe, Kent. John Nichols remarks that Hayes spent much time in philosophical experiments. Hayes found favour with his contemporaries from his ‘sedate temper’ and clear exposition; and

Charles Hutton Charles Hutton FRS FRSE LLD (14 August 1737 – 27 January 1823) was a British mathematician and surveyor. He was professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1773 to 1807. He is remembered for his calculation of the ...

remarked that he had erudition concealed by modesty. Hayes died at his chambers in Gray's Inn on 18 December 1760.

Works

In 1704, appeared his ''Treatise on Fluxions, or an Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy'', London, the first English work explaining

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

's method of infinitesimals. After an introduction on

conic section In mathematics, a conic section, quadratic curve or conic is a curve obtained as the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane. The three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola, and the ellipse; the circle is a spe ...

s with concise proofs, Hayes applied Newton's method systematically, first to obtain the tangents of curves, then their areas, and lastly to problems of maxima and minima. His preface shows he was well read in mathematical literature. In 1710 he printed a pamphlet, ''New and Easy Method to find out the Longitude''; and in 1723 ''The Moon, a Philosophical Dialogue'', arguing that she is not opaque, but has some light of her own. After studying Hebrew, Hayes in 1736 published his ''Vindication of the History of the Septuagint'', and in 1738 ''Critical Examination of the Holy Gospels according to St. Matthew and St. Luke'', with regard to the history of Christ's birth and infancy. His studies were from then mainly directed to chronology, except for some tracts written to defend the policy of the Royal African Company. In 1747 appeared his ''Series of Kings of Argos and of Emperors of China from Fohi to Jesus Christ'', to prove that their dates and order of succession agreed with the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, and in 1751 a ''Dissertation on the Chronology of the Septuagint'', a defence of the Chaldean and Egyptian chronology and history. In retirement, he became absorbed in a major work, ''Chronographia Asiatica & Ægyptiaca'', which he did not live to complete. Two parts of it only were published, during the last two years of his life, when he had chambers in Gray's Inn: first, ''Chronographiæ Asiaticæ & Ægyptiacæ Specimen'', and the second, subdivided into (1) ''Origo Chronologiæ LXX interpretum investigatur'', and (2) ''Conspectus totius Operis exhibetur''. Part of his argument is that the Seventy (authors of the Septuagint) and

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

made use of writings preserved in the library of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, which had been omitted in making up the Old Testament canon.

References

;Attribution

External links

''Treatise on Fluxions''
London, 1704 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Charles 1678 births 1760 deaths 18th-century English people 18th-century English mathematicians Chronologists British slave traders Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England