The Leibniz catenary and approximation of \(e\) -- an analysis of his unpublished calculations (Q2279707)

Some 57 years before Euler published his \textit{Introductio in analysin infinitorum}, in which he explained his treatment of logarithms, Leibniz had already computed \(e\) up to 12 significant digits (but missed it because of a misplaced decimal point) and understood that this number is the base of a logarithmic function. His findings were not published and he only gave a hint in a private letter to Rudolph Christian von Bodenhausen explaining his construction of the catenary published in the scientific journal Acta Eruditorum in June 1691. The authors of the present paper found worksheets of Leibniz preserved at the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Bibliothek (GWLB) in Hanover which reveal (as in other cases, too) that Leibniz was a truly modern mathematician. The paper is a further important step to understand Leibniz's mathematical thinking and his methods used.