Napoleon and Mathematics: A Case Study of the Interplay Between Mathematics and History

Abstract

Napoleon Bonaparte, whose mathematical promise as a student resulted in encouragement to enter the artillery, considered himself a mathematician; he even has a geometric theorem named in his honor. Mathematics therefore, formed an important core of the scientific work that would proceed among the French savants in Egypt during the Napoleonic expedition. To this end, Childers and Huffman investigate the interplay between history and mathematics related to the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt.