A History of the Mathematical Theory of Probability From the Time of Pascal to that of Laplace Cambridge Library Collection - Mathematics Series

Throughout his early life, Isaac Todhunter (1820?84) excelled as a student of mathematics, gaining a scholarship at the University of London and numerous awards during his time at St John's College, Cambridge. Taking up fellowship of the college in 1849, he became widely known for both his educational texts and his historical accounts of various branches of mathematics. The present work, first published in 1865, describes the rise of probability theory as a recognised subject, beginning with a discussion of the famous 'problem of points', as considered by the likes of the Chevalier de Méré, Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Subsequently, the application of advanced methods that had been developed in classical areas of mathematics led to rapid progress in probability theory. Todhunter traces this growth, closing with a thorough account of Pierre-Simon Laplace's far-reaching work in the area.

Preface; 1. Cardan, Kepler, Galileo; 2. Pascal and Fermat; 3. Huygens; 4. On combinations; 5. Mortality and life insurance; 6. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1670 and 1700; 7. James Bernoulli; 8. Montmort; 9. De Moivre; 10. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1700 and 1750; 11. Daniel Bernoulli; 12. Euler; 13. D'Alembert; 14. Bayes; 15. Lagrange; 16. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1750 and 1780; 17. Condorcet; 18. Trembley; 19. Miscellaneous investigations between the years 1780 and 1800; 20. Laplace; Appendix; List of authors; Index.