|
John Collins, born near Oxford on March 5, 1625, and died in London on November 10, 1683, was a man of great natural ability, but of slight education. Being devoted to mathematics, he spent his spare time in correspondence with the leading mathematicians of the time, for whom he was always ready to do anything in his power, and he has been described - not inaptly - as the English Mersenne. To him we are indebted for much information on the details of the discoveries of the period.
|
