The repercussion of José Anastácio da Cunha in Britain and USA in the nineteenth century

Abstract

José Anastácio da Cunha (1744–1787) is usually recognized as one of the most important Portuguese mathematicians ever. Nevertheless, his work does not seem to have had much repercussion abroad. His Principios mathematicos (Lisbon, 1790) were translated into French, but with very limited impact. However, thanks to a review by John Playfair, an English textbook by John Radford Young featured a proof by Anastácio da Cunha (of a proposition on parallels) and a definition of proportion influenced by the one used by Cunha. This proof on parallels also made its way to an American textbook by Benjamin Greenleaf. Young’s and Greenleaf’s are, so far, the only known cases of actual use (instead of mere reference to) of Cunha’s work outside Portugal.