Napier calculated no logarithms of numbers, and, as already stated, the
logarithms invented by him were not to base e. The first logarithms to
the base e were published by John Speidell in his _New Logarithmes_
(London, 1619), which contains hyperbolic log sines, tangents and
secants for every minute of the quadrant to 5 places of decimals.
In 1624 Benjamin Ursinus published at Cologne a canon of logarithms
exactly similar to Napier's in the _Descriptio_ of 1614, only much
enlarged. The interval of the arguments is 10´´, and the results are
given to 8 places; in Napier's canon the interval is 1', and the number
of places is 7. The logarithms are strictly Napierian, and the
arrangement is identical with that in the canon of 1614. This is the
largest Napierian canon that has ever been published.
In the same year (1624) Kepler published at Marburg a table of Napierian
logarithms of sines with certain additional columns to facilitate
special calculations.
The first publication of Briggian logarithms on the continent is due to
Wingate, who published at Paris in 1625 his _Arithmétique
logarithmétique_, containing seven-figure logarithms of numbers up to
1000, and log sines and tangents from Gunter's _Canon_ (1620). In the
following year, 1626, Denis Henrion published at Paris a _Traicté des
Logarithmes_, containing Briggs's logarithms of numbers up to 20,001 to
10 places, and Gunter's log sines and tangents to 7 places for every
minute. In the same year de Decker also published at Gouda a work
entitled _Nieuwe Telkonst, inhoudende de Logarithmi voor de Ghetallen
beginnende van 1 tot 10,000_, which contained logarithms of numbers up
to 10,000 to 10 places, taken from Briggs's _Arithmetica_ of 1624, and
Gunter's log sines and tangents to 7 places for every minute.[11] Vlacq
rendered assistance in the publication of this work, and the privilege
is made out to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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