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'William Oughtred' (March 5, 1575 – June 30, 1660) was an English mathematician.
Although John Napier created the logarithmic scales upon which they are based, it was Oughtred who first used two such scales sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division; and thus is credited as the inventor of the slide rule in 1622. Oughtred also introduced the "×" symbol for multiplication as well as the abbreviations "sin" and "cos" for the sine and cosine functions.^[1]
Oughtred was born at Eton in Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire), and educated there and at King's College, Cambridge, of which he became fellow. Being admitted to holy orders, he left the university about 1603, and was presented to the rectory of Albury, near Guildford in Surrey; and about 1628 he was appointed by the Earl of Arundel to instruct his son in mathematics. He corresponded with some of the most eminent scholars of his time on mathematical subjects; and his house was generally full of pupils from all quarters. It is said that he expired in a sudden transport of joy upon hearing the news of the vote at Westminster for the restoration of Charles II.
He published, among other mathematical works, ''Clavis Mathematicae'' (The Key to Mathematics), in 1631; a treatise on navigation entitled ''Circles of Proportion'', in 1632; works on trigonometry and dialling, and his ''Opuscula Mathematica'', published posthumously in 1676.

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References

1. A History of Mathematics, Florian Cajori, , , Macmillan, 1919,


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External links

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★ The Oughtred Society inspired by Oughtred and dedicated to the history and preservation of slide rules.

★ Answers.com article with additional material on Oughtred.