Rolle

Michel Rolle

Born: 21 April 1652 in Ambert, Basse-Auvergne, France
Died: 8 Nov 1719 in Paris, France

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Rolle worked on Diophantine analysis, algebra (using methods of Bachet involving use of the Euclidean algorithm) and geometry. He is best remembered for Rolle's Theorem which was published in an obscure book in 1691, using a method of Hudde in the proof.

If f(a) = f(b) = 0 then f'(x) = 0 for some x, a lte x lte b.

Rolle described the calculus as a collection of ingenious fallacies . He invented the notation ^nsqrtx for the n th root of x. He also adopted the notion that if a > b then -b > -a in opposition to Descartes and others.

Other Web sites:

Rice University, USA

References:

  1. Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  2. G Loria, Storia delle matematiche (Milan, 1950) 670-673.
  3. J E Montucla, Histoire des mathématique II (Paris, 1758), 361-368, III (Paris, 1802), 110-116. 
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JOC/EFR February 1996