24/02/2025
The Founder Of Trigonometry:
Hipparchus of Nicaea (Ἵππαρχος, c. 190 – 120 BCE)
Hipparchus of Nicaea was a Greek astronomer and mathematicians, and one of the greatest astronomers of antiquity.
Hipparchus made detailed observations of the night sky and created the first comprehensive star catalog in the western world. He is considered the father of trigonometry: he constructed trigonometric tables and used these to reliably predict solar eclipses. He also invented the astrolabe and solved different problems in spherical trigonometry.
Hipparchus created a table of chords, which was an early example of a trigonometric table. He used the supplementary angle theorem, half angle formulas, and linear interpolation to create the table. The table allowed Greek scientists to solve triangles and make celestial forecasts.
