Hamilton, Rodrigues, and the Quaternion Scandal

1989/12/01 by S. L. Altmann · 1 citation
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #History and Theory of Mathematics #Mathematics and Applications #Relativity and Gravitational Theory

paper · doi:10.1080/0025570x.1989.11977459

openalex publication_date 1989/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/17

Abstract

What went wrong with one of the major mathematical discoveries of the nineteenth century

Citations

• Olinde Rodrigues' paper of 1840 on transformation groups
• Applications of Grassmann's Extensive Algebra
• LXXVIII. On quaternions; or on a new system of imaginaries in Algebra

Cited by

• Quaternion [wikipedia]