Misunderstood, ostracized, forgotten. Stories from modern European mathematics (Q6540552)

This is an interesting book and a welcome addition for mathematics teachers who like to enrich their education with historical details. In the historiography of mathematics the emphasis is often on the big names. In this book, the author discusses the biography and the work of 67 people who have contributed to mathematics in some way or another but have been forgotten or are insufficiently appreciated. He restricts himself to modern times. He starts with 10 mathematicians such as De l'Hôpital and Taylor, whose names are often mentioned in mathematics education but of whom most mathematicians know little or nothing. Then follow 14 mathematicians who were ahead of their time such as Bolzano, Babbage and Abel. Then 13 female mathematicians are discussed such as Agnesi, Kowalewsakja and Noether. Then follow 14 mathematicians whose names sometimes come up but of whom many know nothing. Examples are Legendre, Pfaff and Lucas. Then 8 Jewish mathematicians are discussed such as Stern, Hausdorff and Courant. The last chapter concerns 8 mathematicians who worked on a forgotten project, the determination of the shape of the earth. Examples are Snellius, Clairaut and Arago.