Adam Ries

Adam Ries ( also Adam Ris, Adam Rys, Adam Reyeß, often in the inflected form " Adam Riese "; * 1492 or 1493 Season Stone, Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, presumably † 30 March or April 2, 1559 in Annaberg or Wiesa ) was a German Reckoner. He became famous for his textbook Rechenung auff the linihen and feathers ... that was until the 17th century placed at least 120 times. It is noteworthy that Adam Ries, his works - as was usual - wrote in Latin but in German language. Thus he reached a wide audience and was also able to also contribute to the unification of the German language.

Adam Ries is generally regarded as the "father of modern computing ." He has contributed his works to the fact that the Roman numeral representation has been recognized as unwieldy in practice and largely replaced by the structured according to the place value system Hindu-Arabic numerals.

Life

Ries's year of birth is not clearly determined. The inscription on the only known contemporary portrait of the mathematician reads: ANNO 1550 ADAM RIES HIS AGE IN LVIII. When in 1550 he was, therefore, in the age of 58, he must have been born in 1492 or 1493, depending on when he has completed the age of 58. Certainly can Ries's birthplace, Relay Stone, determine, because in the preface to his " COSS " he gives himself over information. His father Contz Ries was the owner of the local mill floor, his mother, his second wife Eva Kittler.

The first decades after the birth of Ries ' are not documented, so it is not known which school he attended. Also found in the registers of the then existing universities no reference to a study of the later mathematician.

The oldest known written mention Adam Ries dates of 22 April 1517, when he appeared before the Staffelsteiner advice about a Erbstreitigkeit. 1509 he had spent with his younger brother Conrad in Zwickau, who attended the local grammar school. 1518 Ries went to Erfurt, where he led a computing school, as well as two of his arithmetic books written and had printed.

1522 he moved to the young, shaped by silver mining town of Annaberg, in which he in the Johannisgasse opened a private school computing and spent the rest of his life. The house is now home to the Adam -Ries - Museum.

1524 Ries finished the work on the manuscript of the COSS, a comprehensive more than 500 pages of textbook algebra. COSS is the usual medieval name for the variable or unknown. The COSS is a link between the medieval and the modern algebra. The manuscript dates from 1524 and was both his sons and pupils and other mathematically interested persons connected with him accessible. The manuscript was published but not at the time. The pressure would have caused enormous costs and other German mathematician published comparable representations 1520-1550. Helping the complete manuscript was printed in 1992.

In the book the maid Anna Berger St. Anne's Church, the marriage Ries ' with Anna Leuber, daughter of Freiberger locksmith Andreas Leuber 1525 noted; " Adam Reyeß Anna Filia Anders lewbers vo Freybergk ". In the same year he took the oath of citizenship. He earned his living first as Rezessschreiber with bills for the individual mines, and later he tested as a counter clerk and made these statements as tithables that the sovereign received his share of the profits.

Ries took over responsibility activities in the Saxon mining administration. Of particular importance was the supply of the rapidly increasing population with food, especially bread in time of burgeoning mining. Bread had fixed prices. It sold Grosch loaves, Penny loaves and two penny rolls. The fluctuations in grain prices were taken into account with different sized loaves. On behalf of the town of Annaberg Ries developed the so-called " Anna Berger bread order" to protect the population.

In 1539, he acquired the eponymous " big castle ", a Vorwerk outside the city, its buildings bear the name today. In 1550 his last work appeared in print.

Adam Ries died in 1559, the traditional data vary between 30 March and 2 April, also the place of death is not known, Annaberg or Wiesa ..

Work

Adam Ries wrote three arithmetic books for the teaching of computing schools and for the training of merchants and craftsmen:

• Account auff the linihen ( 1518): Ries describes in the reckoning on the lines of an abacus. It is expressly provided, according to the preface to the second edition for children.
• Rechenung auff the linihen and feathers ... ( 1522): In addition to the arithmetic on the abacus he describes in this book the numeric calculation with Indian / Arabic numerals. It was about a hundred times in his lifetime, so far launched at least 120 times and established his reputation as German Reckoner.
• Rechenung after lenge / auff the Linihen VND spring / ... / With grüntlichem teaching of visierens. ( 1550): Often cited under the abbreviated title " Practica ", as in the individual chapters same practical examples are calculated using different methods. In addition to his earlier books Ries has here also covers the " Compose ", which in his time very important calculation of the contents of barrels. The book shows for the first time a portrait of the author, the ' ever are the only contemporary image Ries also a reference to his year of birth.

Ries wrote his books in German language. The promoted their proliferation in German-speaking and made ​​a contribution to the unification of the German language.

Ries designed the Annaberg bread order, these regulated with a collection of tables the permissible deviations in weight. Later Adam Ries similar bread orders created for Joachimsthal, Zwickau, Hof and Leipzig. :

• A Gerechent Booklet / auff the Schoeffel / bin / and Pfundtgewicht ... ( manuscript 1533, printed 1536): A book of tables for the calculation of daily prices; a kind of counselor who - as Ries in the preface - helps " that the poor would mean ym Brotkauff not vbersezt ".

1524 Ries finished the work on the manuscript of the COSS, a comprehensive more than 500 pages of textbook algebra.

"That's according to Adam Ries ( e)"

The statement " that makes after Adam Ries ( s) 'is still used today to emphasize the accuracy of a calculation result. Already in the 18th century, it was in common usage in use. Abraham Gotthelf Kästner instance, writes in his History of Mathematics in 1796: "After Adam giant, has long been insuring the truth of a statement, as bey the connoisseurs of geometry, QED " In a 1785 published writing is discussed in more detail the origins of the saying. Thus was the " proverb, which is known not only in Swabia, but also in our neighborhoods: After Adam Ries arithmetic book. [ ... ] He was a German, lived in Annaberg and his example were so artificial and ingenious, that the time for the most perfect computer held, which could dissolve everything that was in Adam Ries book. "

Family

With his wife Anna he fathered at least eight children. Three of the five sons, Adam, Abraham and Jacob, were active as a Reckoner in Annaberg. While Abraham and Jacob died in 1604 in her home, Adam is said to have settled in the resin. The fourth son, Isaac, he moved to Leipzig, where he worked among other things as Visierer ( sealers). Paul, the fifth son, was landowner and judge in Wiesa. The three daughters Eva, Anna and Sybilla married each in Annaberg. The descendants of Adam Ries are the subject of ongoing, detailed genealogical research. Even today there is a variety of Adam -Ries - descendants in the Upper Erzgebirge. The Adam -Ries -Bund has made it its mission to identify all descendants of Adam Ries, and has in its constantly updated database so far more than 20,000 direct descendants.

Name Variants

In today's parlance, they fall for each name variants " ream " and " Giant". The latter is a grammatical relic from the time of the mathematician, as well as personal names were declined. Thus, the " ream " was the inflectional / -e / is added in the dative case, which has been preserved in the phrase " according to Adam Riese " to this day, as such, but is no longer widely recognized. Since the spelling of names was not then determined as today, as well as writing " Ris ", " Rise ," Ryse "and even" Reyeß " known.

Monuments

Annaberg

Staffelstein

Erfurt

Stamps

Stamp of the German Post Office (1992 ) for 500th birthday