Ever since people were put on this Earth they are been involved in controversies and argued with one another. Probably one the most infamous controversies in the history of math and science is the one between Newton and Leibniz over the invention of calculus. Each man created this new and advanced type mathematics to accomplish a different task. Both Newton and Leibniz declared that the developed calculus independently, but only you can truly decide. In this research paper I am going to describe each man’s contributions and methods, how the controversy began, and the controversy today. First, I am going to explain about Newton’s life and how he can to developing calculus. Isaac Newton was born on January 4, 1643 in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, …show more content…
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz was born on July 1, 1646 in Leipzig, Germany. Leibniz was a German mathematician and philosopher. Leibniz began working on his calculus in 1674 when staying in Paris, just eight years after Newton began his own works. Leibniz introduced new symbols in his version of calculus, so it was a whole different notation. Leibniz’s notation was easier to use and understand compared to Newton’s. In 1684, Leibniz published his first book on Differential Calculus, and in 1686 published his explanation on Integral Calculus. Only a year later in 1687, Newton published his book the “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica ("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"). Everywhere, but England accepted and used Leibniz’s form of calculus and his notation. England wanted to remain loyal to Newton’s form, until in 1820 when they finally accepted Leibniz’s notation and began to catch up on their lost years caused by outdated knowledge. Leibniz might have gained the world’s backing for a short time, but this controversy still lives …show more content…
Both men played an important role in developing Infinitesimal Calculus. Infinitesimal Calculus is the part of calculus concerned with finding tangent lines to curves; areas under curves; minima and maxima; and other geometric and analytic problems. But each man wanted the credit for this game changing discovery. Newton set out on a campaign to prove to the world that Leibniz had plagiarized his work. There was some evidence behind Newton’s accusation. Newton and Leibniz shared friends and colleagues, so some information could have been passed. Also, it is now confirmed that Newton and Leibniz corresponded back and worth, through letters, telling each other about their new findings. Newton also had backing from Britain’s royal society, while Leibniz had few allies. Both of these great mathematicians spent the last years of their life fighting over this issue. During this time, most of the credit was giver, but future investigations would again shake up everyone