John Napier
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John Napier of Merchiston, nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. Napier is best known as the
1616 portrait of Napier
Merchiston Castle from an 1834 woodcut
Memorial to John Napier in St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh
Cover of Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio (1614)
Logarithm
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In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of 1000 to base 10 is 3, because 100
John Napier
…a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. Napier is best known as the discoverer of logarithms. He also invented the Napier's bones calculating device and popularised the use of the decimal point in arithmetic. Napier's birthplace, Merchiston…
The logarithm keys (LOG for base 10 and LN for base e) on a TI-83 Plus graphing calculator
A nautilus shell displaying a logarithmic spiral