Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Paul Tannery didn't begin his career intending to become one of the most influential historians of mathematics. He trained as an engineer at the École Polytechnique and spent much of his professional life working in France's state tobacco administration. But after work, Tannery pursued a very different passion: ancient mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and the history of science.
What began as an intellectual interest became a lifetime of scholarship.
3 TAKEAWAYS: 1. How Paul Tannery transformed a personal passion into groundbreaking scholarship
2. Why Tannery believed historical claims needed evidence, not repetition
3. Why your "side interest" may matter more than you realize
RESOURCES:
Paul Tannery — MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive (mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Tannery_Paul)
René Taton, "Paul Tannery (1843–1904) (https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhs_0048-7996_1954_num_7_4_3462)
Palatine Library - Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta (https://complessopilotta.it/en/palatine-library/)
🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com (https://mathsciencehistory.com)
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h (https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h)
🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?
☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal (paypal.com/ncp/payment/PR7F7ST49GDNA)
Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform
Check out our merch: mathsciencehistory.com/the-store (mathsciencehistory.com/the-store)
Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
Waiting for You by Pawel Feszczuk – from Free Music Archive – CC 4.0
Train by Sergey Cheremisinov -from Free Music Archive – CC 4.0
Serene Sonnet by Oleskii Holubiev from Pixabay – CC 0.0
Until next time, carpe diem!
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/34826799?utm_source=youtube
Paul Tannery didn't begin his career intending to become one of the most influential historians of mathematics. He trained as an engineer at the École Polytechnique and spent much of his professional life working in France's state tobacco administration. But after work, Tannery pursued a very different passion: ancient mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and the history of science.
What began as an intellectual interest became a lifetime of scholarship.
3 TAKEAWAYS: 1. How Paul Tannery transformed a personal passion into groundbreaking scholarship
2. Why Tannery believed historical claims needed evidence, not repetition
3. Why your "side interest" may matter more than you realize
RESOURCES:
Paul Tannery — MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive (mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Tannery_Paul)
René Taton, "Paul Tannery (1843–1904) (https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhs_0048-7996_1954_num_7_4_3462)
Palatine Library - Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta (https://complessopilotta.it/en/palatine-library/)
🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com (https://mathsciencehistory.com)
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h (https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h)
🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?
☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal (paypal.com/ncp/payment/PR7F7ST49GDNA)
Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform
Check out our merch: mathsciencehistory.com/the-store (mathsciencehistory.com/the-store)
Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
Waiting for You by Pawel Feszczuk – from Free Music Archive – CC 4.0
Train by Sergey Cheremisinov -from Free Music Archive – CC 4.0
Serene Sonnet by Oleskii Holubiev from Pixabay – CC 0.0
Until next time, carpe diem!
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/34826799?utm_source=youtube
