Pour l'histoire des sept premiers nombres parfaits. (For the history of the seven first perfect numbers) (Q1119551)

The Greeks discovered the four smallest perfect numbers, beginning a search which continued sporadically through the Arabic and mediaeval periods. In Germany, J. Regiomontanus determined the fifth perfect number by 1461 and J. Scheybl the sixth by 1555. The author describes the appearance of these two numbers in Italian documents around 1460, and discusses in detail the work of P. Cataldi (1552-1626) who showed that \(2^ n-1\) is composite with n and determined the 5th, 6th and 7th perfect numbers. The paper concludes with a brief statement of the author's own results on the final digits of perfect numbers.