Caleb Webber
The History of The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
Abstract: Newton and Leibniz are often credited with the
“invention of calculus.” As undergraduates in mathematics, this fact seems
obvious, but what does it mean? How does someone “invent” calculus? More
specifically, we know they are the inventors of the Fundamental Theorem of
Calculus (FTC). However, history has shown us that this may not actually be
the case. We will explore the work of Newton and Leibniz, in particular
their derivations of the FTC. We will also talk about common mathematical
influences these two share and then discuss how their ideas became the
rigorous mathematical study we know today.