Hidden figures: giving history’s most overlooked mathematicians their due

Hypatia, who lived in the 4th to 5th century in Alexandria, was an astronomer, philosopher and mathematician. Photograph: Ivy Close Images/Alamy

Pythagoras. Isaac Newton. Alan Turing. John Nash. Mathematicians rarely become famous but those who do receive celebrity treatment are invariably white men. Turing was played by Benedict Cumberbatch on the big screen; Nash by Russell Crowe.

That lens has been missing an infinitely richer, more nuanced, more multicultural story. A new book, The Secret Lives of Numbers, by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell, shines a light on overlooked contributions to maths by women and men in China, India, the Arabian peninsula and other parts of the world.

“When we think of the history of mathematics, it is not just about ancient Greeks and bearded white men,” says Revell, 34, a British journalist, speaking via Zoom from London. “This isn’t about tearing anyone down. This is about explaining that the history of mathematics is way more complex, chaotic and amazing than you may have known. My hope is that our book goes some way to illuminating that.”