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This paper discusses how John Wallis (1616–1703), Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, used biblical evidence to support his ideas about natural philosophy and mathematics. Examples from Wallis's long career include his calculation of the age of the Earth, his critique of Robert Hooke's theory concerning the origin of fossils, and his debate with Edward Tyson about whether humans are naturally herbivorous or carnivorous. My analysis shows that Wallis's use of biblical history did not necessarily commit him to an intellectually conservative position, but neither did it always encourage him to embrace new ideas. In fact, the truth is somewhere in the middle: I argue that biblical history provided a useful way for Wallis to negotiate between tradition and innovation, to determine which new ideas represented important advances and which were unsubstantiated follies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dispute that raged between Thomas Hobbes and John Wallis from 1655 until Hobbes's death in 1679 was one of the most intense of the 'battles of the books' in seventeenth-century intellectual life. The dispute was principally centered on geometric questions (most notably Hobbes's many failed attempts to square the circle), but it also involved questions of religion and politics. This paper investigates the origins of the dispute and argues that Wallis's primary motivation was not so much to refute Hobbes's geometry as to demolish his reputation as an authority in political, philosophical, and religious matters. It also highlights the very different conceptions of geometrical methodology employed by the two disputants. In the end, I argue that, although Wallis was successful in showing the inadequacies of Hobbes's geometric endeavours, he failed in his quest to discredit the Hobbesian philosophy in toto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Wallis's encyclopaedic endeavours were built on a mountain of ink and paper. To consider Wallis's work in the making, this article will draw his portrait as a reader and book collector. Keeper of the University of Oxford archives, he secured donations for the Bodleian and Savilian libraries and obsessively consulted old and new publications, manuscript and printed texts to build and defend his own work. Revealing interconnections between his contributions to theology, cryptography, linguistics, music and mathematics, this paper will focus on Wallis's methodical construction of his personal 'inkscape'. His passionate obsession with the preservation and dissemination of his thought in print will be considered alongside the research he only consigned in manuscript form, through correspondence and notes. This reconstruction of John Wallis's libraries will therefore provide us with an overview of the érudit's contested achievements, as well as a panorama of contemporary scholarly practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: John Wallis, Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford from 1649 to 1703, engaged in a number of disputes with French mathematicians: with Fermat (in 1657–1658), with Pascal (in 1658–1659), with Dulaurens (in 1667–1668), and against Descartes (in the early 1670s). This paper examines not only the mathematical content of the arguments but also Wallis’s various strategies of response. Wallis’s opinion of French mathematicians became increasingly bitter, but at the same time he was able to use the confrontations to promote his own reputation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article informs about theorems propounded by doctor in philosophy William Brouncker of England. It also mention the book "Arithematica Infinitorium," by John Wallis who referred to arithmetic of infinites. Wallis had planned to obtain the new formula using method of interpolation assisted by Brouncker. It mentions how Wallis convinced Brouncker hard to publish the proof but all in vain. It also reveals how proof of Brouncker's formula is the starting point of Stieltjes's theory.

The article discusses the evaluation of the probability integral using the product formula for π of mathematician John Wallis. It explores the standard one-variable calculus method for evaluating the probability integral and functions using the approximation theory. It states that to approximate the integrand in the probability integral can yield a simpler evaluation of integrals. It proves that calculating the limits of the expression can be done using the Wallis product formula for π.

The article reports on John Wallis' attribution of the startling fact that a hole can be cut in one of two equal cubes large enough to permit that passage of the second cube to Prince Rupert. It has been showed in 1968 that a hole can be cut in one of two equal regular tetrahedra large enough to permit the passage of the second tetrahedron. A more precise notion of "plug" is considered. It shows that every such stopper has the Rupert property. An argument which shows generally that it is possible to cut a hole in any universal stopper through which every other multipurpose plug of the same diameter can be passed is presented.

Discusses John Wallis's book 'Arithmetica Infinitorum.'

Presents information on the contribution made by the work of mathematicians John Wallis and Isaac Barrow to the development of mathematics in early modern England. Reference to tension between algebraic techniques and traditional geometric mode of thought; Comparison of Wallis' and Barrow's mathematical styles; Examination of Wallis' and Barrow's views on ancient and modern mathematics.