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Philosophy & Social Sciences

Immanuel Bonfils

Who

Immanuel Bonfils · Philosophy & Social Sciences

What

Mathematician and astronomer; pioneered a system of decimal fractions and exponential notation about 150 years before European counterparts, and compiled the 'Six Wings' astronomical tables

When

c. 1300, southern France (Provence) — 1377

Where

Orange · Tarascon, Provence (now France)

Biography

Immanuel Bonfils is recognized among Jewish contributors to Philosophy & Social Sciences — Mathematician and astronomer; pioneered a system of decimal fractions and exponential notation about 150 years before European counterparts, and compiled the 'Six Wings' astronomical tables

How & why

Bonfils was a French Jewish mathematician and astronomer who developed a system of decimal fractions and exponential notation roughly 150 years before comparable European work, and compiled the influential astronomical tables Shesh Kenafayim ('Six Wings', c. 1365), later translated into Latin and Byzantine Greek. He taught astronomy and mathematics at Orange and Tarascon. As a rabbinic scholar of medieval Provence, he was Jewish.

Sources & external links

Verify and go deeper with these external references.

Source: Jewish Encyclopedia

Contributions & Sources

Mathematician and astronomer; pioneered a system of decimal fractions and exponential notation about 150 years before European counterparts, and compiled the 'Six Wings' astronomical tables

c. 1300 CE

Source: Jewish Encyclopedia