Gerald J. Toomer

Gerald J. Toomer
Born (1934-11-23) 23 November 1934 (age 90)
Aldershot, Hampshire
NationalityBritish
Academic work
DisciplineHistory of science
InstitutionsBrown University
Utrecht University
Doctoral studentsJan Hogendijk

Gerald James Toomer (born 23 November 1934) is a historian of astronomy and mathematics who has written numerous books and papers on ancient Greek and medieval Islamic astronomy. In particular, he translated Ptolemy's Almagest into English.

Formerly a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, he moved to Brown University as a special student in 1959 to study "the history of mathematics in antiquity and the transmission of these systems through Arabic into medieval Europe."[1] He joined the History of Mathematics department in 1963, became an associate professor in 1965, and was the chairman from 1980 to 1986.[2][3]

  1. ^ Martha Mitchell. "History of Mathematics" Archived 4 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine in Encyclopedia Brunoniana.
  2. ^ Author biography from publisher's web site for Ptolemy's Almagest.
  3. ^ Swerdlow, N. M. (1998), Otto E. Neugebauer 1899–1990 (PDF), United States National Academy of Sciences.