A history of the discoveries of the major figures in mathematics from the Ancients to Einstein. It includes separate chapters on the work of mathematicians such as Descartes, Fermat, Pascal, Newton, Leibnitz, Euler, Gauss, Hamilton, Babbage and Einstein. The reader does not require anything more than a rusty knowledge of A-Level maths. Both pure and applied mathematics are covered, as most of the greats worked in both areas.