The History of Calculus Who found it, who fought over it, and why your notation looks the way it does

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Provenance, and how this book was built

T​‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌​his book was built like a research project, and the audit trail is part of the book. Every fact, date, name, quotation, and image traces back to a source that a person read in full, and every disagreement between sources is logged rather than smoothed over.

The research ran as ten domains writing into one shared register, was revised four times in August 2026, and folded in fourteen sources obtained through the Boston Public Library. Where a source could not be obtained, the book says so in plain sight and rests no claim on it.

What was done, counted

What was done, counted: 12 rows.
Sources logged 259
Sources read in full text 239
Sources logged but not obtained, supporting no claim 20
Note files written, one per source read 259
Dated events in the master timeline 340
People registered with pronunciations 212
Words, symbols, and eponyms traced 206
Disagreements between sources, logged 129
Of those, resolved from the sources 58
Primary-source images rights-cleared 43
Of those, downloaded and verified on disk 36
Mathematical results re-derived and checked in code 18

The working record

Everything in this book is reproducible from the working files.

The working record: 14 rows.
Artifact What it holds
registers/sources.csv259 sources with author, year, title, container, DOI or URL, language, tier, access level, and the note file for each
registers/dates.csv340 dated events with sort year, precision, display date, people, place, category, confidence, dispute note, and sources
registers/people.csv212 people with life dates, IPA, plain respelling, region, contribution, and sources
registers/terms.csv206 words, symbols, and eponyms with first attested use, originator, language origin, and literal meaning
registers/conflicts.csv129 logged disagreements between sources, with resolution and method where settled
registers/images.csv72 image candidates with repository, rights status, the exact rights wording found, and local file
registers/IMAGE-RIGHTS-REPORT.mdPlain-language rights summary per repository, and what is safe for commercial publication versus classroom use only
registers/GAP-REPORT.mdEvery research gap with outcome and, for unreachable items, what a library would need to request
notes/259 note files, one per source, each with citation, access record, extracted dates, people, terms, quotations, and contradictions
images/36 rights-cleared image files verified on disk
sources/76 downloaded full texts
verify/math_verification.txtRaw output of all 18 mathematical checks, including the one test that was written wrong and corrected
verify/ALL-QUOTES.txt1,043 direct quotations extracted from the notes, each tagged with its source ID
build/gen_tables.pyThe script that generates every register-derived table in this book

The full editions note: this web book is the course edition, keyed section by section to the Derivatives and Integrals books. A parallel edition with a generic AP Calculus mapping exists for readers outside these two courses.