(780?–850?). A mathematician and astronomer in the 9th century AD, al-Khwarizmi is known as the father of algebra. He studied the work of many ancient scholars. Using their ideas, he made his own discoveries and wrote about them. Europeans in the Middle Ages translated al-Khwarizmi's Arabic writings into Latin. The translations introduced algebra and Arabic numerals to Europe. Many of al-Khwarizmi's ideas about mathematics are still important today.

Early life

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was born in about 780. Scholars believe that either he or his ancestors came from Khwarezm, a region in Central Asia. The region is now part of the countries of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

During al-Khwarizmi's life the powerful Islamic Caliphate ruled Khwarezm. The Caliphate also ruled a large part of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. The Caliphate reflected a combination of Asian and European influences. In that environment al-Khwarizmi could have learned about many cultures and ideas.

Little is known about al-Khwarizmi's personal life. As an adult he lived in Baghdad, in what is now Iraq. In Baghdad he became a member of the House of Wisdom, a scientific research center and school. Many well-respected scholars and artists studied and worked there. Al-Khwarizmi studied the works of Arab, Greek, and Indian scholars.

Career and influence

Al-Khwarizmi invented new ways to solve mathematical problems. He wrote down his ideas in several books. One of his books explained a problem-solving system now known as algebra. The word algebra, in fact, comes from the Arabic word al-jabr (completion)—a word in the title of al-Khwarizmi's book. After Europeans translated that book into Latin, it introduced algebra to Europe. European universities used the book to teach mathematics from the 12th to the 16th century.

In his writings al-Khwarizmi used the base-ten system. (Mathematicians in India had developed it in the 5th and 6th centuries.) The base-ten system is a way of counting with a set of ten numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9). By using the base-ten system, al-Khwarizmi helped to introduce Arabic numerals to Europe. Arabic numerals are the number symbols that most people use today (1, 2, 3, and so on). (See also numbers and counting systems.)

Al-Khwarizmi was interested in more than mathematics. He wrote books on geography and astronomy as well. Using latitude and longitude, he helped to create fairly accurate maps. He also explained how to find the positions of the sun, the moon, and the planets. Al-Khwarizmi died in about 850. He was so influential that the modern term algorithm, which refers to a set of steps used to solve a mathematical problem, came from his name (Europeans wrote it as Algoritmi).