The Matrix: A Brief History

Matrices, they’re pretty darn cool if you really start to think about them, and that’s the point of this week’s blog. Matrices play a crucial role in Linear Systems and in all aspects of mathematics and engineering, which is why I thought we should know a little more about them.

Matrices have been around for a thousand years, and were first used by the Japanese in the 10th century. Matrices were called arrays until about mid way through the 18th century. The idea and applications of arrays/matrices were brought to Europe in 1545 by an Italian mathematician named Girolamo Cardano who then published it into his Ars Magna. His work would be the inspiration for many great mathematicians such as: Jan de Witt, Gottfried Leibniz, and Gabriel Cramer.

John Joseph Sylvester began using the word matrix to describe arrays. Matrix comes from the Latin word for womb, it is formed from mater meaning mother. Sylvester used this name because he realized that matrices could be source and give rise to many other smaller arrays or determinants as we call them.