Soviet postage stamp commemorating the 1200th anniversary of Muhammad al‑Khwarizmi in 1983. Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi (خوارزمی in Persian, أبو عبد الله محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي in Arabic), also called Muhammad ibn_Musa al_Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn_Musa al_Khowarizmi, Mohammad Bin Musa Al_Khawarizmi, and Abu Ja'Far Muhammad ibn_Musa Al_Khowarizmi, (flourished early 9th century), was a Persian scientist, mathematician, astronomer/astrologer, and author. He may have been born in 780, or around 800; he may have died in 845, or around 840.
He was born in the town of Khwarizm (now Khiva), in Khorasan province of Uzbekistan). The name al-Khwarizmi means the person from Khwarizm. His family moved soon afterward, to a place near Baghdad, where he accomplished most of his work in the period between 813 and 833. There are various guesses at his native languages, including Persian or more probably Khwarezmian (an extinct Iranian language). Al-Khwarizmi wrote all his works in Arabic, the language of science in the Islamic world of his time.
He developed the concept of an algorithm in mathematics, and is thus sometimes given the title of "grandfather of computer science". The words "algorithm" and "algorism" derive ultimately from his name.
He also made major contributions to the fields of algebra, trigonometry, astronomy/astrology, geography and cartography. His systematic and logical approach to solving linear and quadratic equations gave shape to the discipline of algebra, a word that is derived from the name of his 830 book on the subject, Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala (حساب الجبر و المقابلة).
While his major contributions were the result of original research, he also did much to synthesize the existing knowledge in these fields from Greek, Indian, and other sources. He appropriated the place-marker symbol of zero, which originated in India, and he is also responsible for the use of Arabic numerals in mathematics.
Al-Khwarizmi systematized and corrected Ptolemy's research in geography and astronomy/astrology, using his own original findings. He supervised the work of 70 geographers to create a map of the then "known world". When his work became known in Europe through Latin translations, his influence made an indelible mark on the development of science in the West: his algebra book introduced that discipline to Europe and became the standard mathematical text at European universities until the 16th century. He also wrote on mechanical devices like the clock, astrolabe, and sundial. His other contributions include tables of trigonometric functions, refinements in the geometric representation of conic sections, and aspects of the calculus of two errors.
See also
Famous works - Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah from whose title came the name "Algebra"
- Kitab al-Jam'a wal-Tafreeq bil Hisab al-Hindi (on Arithmetic, which survived in a Latin translation but was lost in the original Arabic)
- Kitab Surat-al-Ard (on geography)
- Istikhraj Tarikh al-Yahud (about the Jewish calendar)
- Kitab al-Tarikh
- Kitab al-Rukhmat (about sun-dials)
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