Loyola University Chicago

Mathematics and Statistics

About the Background

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German philosopher and mathematician, is considered to be one of the founders of calculus. Born in 1646, Leibniz dedicated his life to reconciling modern science and philosophy with Aristotle's Scholastics. He worked as a political advisor for many years, designed many mechanical devices, and devised his own dynamic theory of motion as well as independently inventing integral and differential calculus. You can learn more about Leibniz and his many accomplishments here.

The background image is a portion of Leibniz's manuscript in which he invents the integral. The original manuscript can be found at the Gottried Wilhelm Leibniz Library in Hanover, Germany.