Meanwhile German mathematicians, working independently, improved the notation

The earliest English work is by Robert Recorde, teacher at Cambridge, who introduced the sign of equality. Vieta, Girard, and Harriot added to the proce es and known relations of the science, Harriot doing more probably than any other. In 1637 appeared the great work of Des cartes; and thenceforward algebra in its varied applications made progre so rapid as to require constantly new definitions for new branches. The latter part of the 17th century was full of new developments of algebraic forms, Newton and Leibnitz, with Wallis, Barrow, Demoivre, Taylor, Stirling, Maclaurin, the Bernouillis, Roberval, Fermat, Pascal, and others pre ing out along new lines.