Remembering John Fauvel (1947-2001): Scholar, Mentor, Organiser
May 12th 2026 marks 25 years since the death of John Fauvel, one of Britain’s most distinguished historians of mathematics. This blog post gives a snapshot of Fauvel’s life and work, explores the Fauvel Collection at the OU and introduces the newly launched John Fauvel Invited Lecture.
Event Report: BSHM Research in Progress 2026
Missed the RiP meeting in March? Luke
Mathematics in Difficult Times: The Hidden Collaboration of Elli and Heinrich Heesch
Have you ever heard of Elli Heesch (1904-1993), a German logician and philosopher who spent a brief research period at Princeton as a nun? You may have heard of her brother, Heinrich Heesch (1906–1995), a notable German mathematician recognised for developing the “discharging method”, which played a crucial role in the 1977 computer-aided proof of the four-colour theorem. However, the collaboration between Heinrich and Elli Heesch on tiling problems and their industrial applications during World War II remains largely unknown.
BSHM Competitions now open
The BSHM runs two annual prizes for school students and undergraduates. Both competitions are now open for entries, with a deadline of June 19th 2026.
Chalkdust Book of the Year 2025
Chalkdust, a mathematical magazine, is running their annual book of the year competition again. Covering books published in 2025, the list features multiple entries from BSHM members. Voting remains open until 18th March.
Meet the Council: Tom Briggs
At our Christmas 2025 AGM, we elected Tom Briggs as our newest ordinary council member. This blog introduces Tom, his interests and his journey into the history of mathematics! Who […]
Neumann Prize 2025 Annoucement
The BSHM is delighted to announce the winner of the 2025 Neumann Prize, Karl Sigmund’s The Waltz of Reason: The Entanglement of Mathematics and Philosophy. The quality of the submissions for the […]
A day in the life at the Royal Observatory Greenwich: Behind the scenes with the Airy Family
(Editor’s note: the reader must excuse (or enjoy) a brief foray into the history of astronomy, this partially grew out of work presented at the BSHM Research in Progress in […]
Sum Stories: Equations and their Origins
Professor Robin Wilson (one of the BSHM HiMEd lecturers), with the Oxford University Mathematical Institute, has created a series of short films (10-20 minutes) for schools, each featuring one of the equations from his recently published OUP book ‘Sum Stories: equations and their origins’.
New Newton scholarship
Royal Society Publishing has recently published a theme issue of Philosophical Transactions A: Newton, Principia, Newton Geneva Edition (17th–19th) and modern Newtonian mechanics: heritage, past & present