Henk J. M. Bos

Hendrik "Henk" Jan Maarten Bos (born 17 July 1940, Enschede)^[1] is a Dutch historian of mathematics. He worked at Utrecht University for most of his career from 1971 and was professor of history of mathematics from 1985 until he retired in 2005.^[2] Since his retirement he has been honorary professor of the history of mathematics at the Faculty of Science at the University of Aarhus. He is married to Kirsti Andersen.

Honors

In 2005, he was awarded the Kenneth O. May Medal.

Selected publications

He has worked on subjects such as the mathematical works of the seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes, including Descartes’ contribution to the development of algebra and geometry.^[3]

• Bos, H. J. M.; Kers, C.; Oort, F.; Raven, D. W. Poncelet's closure theorem. Exposition. Math. 5 (1987), no. 4, 289–364.

Joseph Harris wrote for MathSciNet: "the authors trace very carefully the history of the problem, describing various approaches culminating in a modern proof. The paper is fascinating from both a historical and a mathematical point of view, and should serve as the definitive source of information about Poncelet's problem in the future" here

• Bos, Henk J. M. Redefining geometrical exactness. Descartes' transformation of the early modern concept of construction. Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Springer-Verlag, New York, 2001.^[4]
• Bos, Henk J. M. (1974), "Differentials, higher-order differentials and the derivative in the Leibnizian calculus", Archive for History of Exact Sciences 14: 1–90, doi:10.1007/BF00327456.
• Bos, Henk J. M. Lectures in the history of mathematics. History of Mathematics, 7. American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI; London Mathematical Society, London, 1993.
• Bos, H. J. M. The closure theorem of Poncelet. Rend. Sem. Mat. Fis. Milano 54 (1984), 145–158 (1987).
• Herbert Mehrtens, Henk J. M. Bos, Ivo Schneider Social History of Nineteenth Century Mathematics Historien des sciences
• Ivor Grattan-Guinness, Henk J. M. Bos 1980. From the Calculus to Set Theory, 1630–1910: An Introductory History. Duckworth.

References

1. Prof.dr. H.J.M. Bos (1940 - ) at the Catalogus Professorum Academiæ Rheno-Traiectinæ
2. "University of Aarhus Henk Bos appointed honorary professor at the University of Aarhus". University of Aarhus.
3. "University of Aarhus Henk Bos appointed honorary professor at the University of Aarhus". University of Aarhus.
4. Guiciardini, Niccolò (2002). "Review: Redefining Geometrical Exactness: Descartes' Transformation of the Early Modern Concept of Construction by Henk J. M. Bos". Early Science and Medicine 7 (2): 155–157.

External links

• University of Aarhus Staff
• 155 Notes on Contributors