John NAPIER (ou NEPER) 1550-1617

In 1614, John Napier (1550-1617) (or Neper: one is found in the texts of the time, and often Neperus in Latin), baron of Merchiston, in Scotland, calculates the logarithms of some trigonometric values and publishes the "Mirifici logarithmorum canonis descriptio" (Description of the mirific rule of logarithms). This publication was highly anticipated in the scientific circles of the time and immediately provoked many calculations and works. Its name was given to the natural logarithm function (ln), fundamental in mathematics.