Influential pws: Niccolò Tartaglia
- Stamily
- May 30, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Written by Jurjen
There are several ways to make an impact on society. The Italian Niccolò Fontana (1500- 1557) did it by being a mathematician and engineer. Not everybody knows him as Niccolò Fontana. Most people know him by the name Niccolò Tartaglia, which means ‘Niccolò the Stammerer’. We will explain later why he got this name. Let’s first have a look at why he is famous.
Impact on science
Most of us have learned in school how to solve quadratic equations (ax^2 + bx = c). This was already known in Tartaglia’s life. However, Tartaglia wanted to take it to the next level and include third powers (x^3) to the equation with a general solution to solve all possible cubic equations.
Another mathematician, Antonio Fior, was also working on this same problem. His teacher, Del Ferro, shared the secret of solving one type of cubic equation with Fior. To settle who would be recognized as the foremost authority, Fior and Tartaglia agreed to a “mathematical duel”, where each posed a series of cubic challenges for the other to solve. However, Fior didn’t know that Tartaglia had found a general way to solve all cubic equations. So, Tartaglia won the battle and gained more respect in the scientific society as being the expert on cubic equations.
Unfortunately, the story of the cubic solution ends sadly. Girolamo Cardano, having obtained Tartaglia’s secret solutions under a pledge of confidentiality, went on to publish the method in his own book without permission from Tartaglia. Although he credited Tartaglia by name, the betrayal sparked a bitter feud, and Tartaglia, who had hoped to profit from his discovery, was left with nothing and remained in poverty.
Other contributions
Besides cubic equations, Tartaglia also improved Aristotle’s work on ballistics (the mathematics to describe how a projectile, like a cannonball, flies through the sky). You can therefore call Tartaglia the founding father of modern ballistics. He also translated an old mathematical work from Euclides, The Elements, to Italian. He contributed in other ways to science as well, but let's shift focus to his stuttering life.

Tartaglia’s stuttering life
Despite his impact on science and engineering, he was also known as somebody with a stutter. The story goes that he was severely wounded when he was 12, after a French army attacked his home city, Brescia (Italy). The soldiers left him for death, but surprisingly he survived because his mother "licked his wounds" (as the story goes...). He later wrote: “In the cathedral, in front of my mother, I was given five murderous wounds, three on my head (each of them exposing my brain) and two on my face. Today I would look like a monster if I did not hide the injuries behind my beard. One of the wounds cut my mouth and my teeth, breaking my jaw and palate in half. This stopped me from talking except in my throat the way magpies do.” (translated)
According to the story, did his speech impediment start after this attack.
“Tartaglia received five serious head wounds, which left him with his stutter.” [John Stillwell] Historians suggest that his stutter was due to the neurological trauma of the beating, though it’s equally possible that the incident simply triggered a late-onset developmental stutter (personal interpretation). We’ll never know for certain. He was not the only one with physical and mental damage after the attack on Brescia. So, he wasn’t alone in being ‘different’ and that could also be the reason that he didn’t hold back and developed his talents and became known as a great self-promoter. He always showed off his talents and skills, whenever he could, and liked to step in the spotlight.
Let Tartaglia be an inspiration for all of us to focus on your talents, instead of how you are different to others.
Sources
“Niccolo Tartaglia.” Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 31 Jul. 2016. Web. 24/05/2020 <www.famousscientists.org/niccolo-tartaglia/>.
“Niccolo Tartaglia.” Mathshistory. September 2005. Web. 24/05/2020 <http://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Tartaglia.html>.
John Stillwell (2010). “Biographical Notes: Tartaglia, Cardano, and Viete.” Mathematics and History. Springer, Third Edition
Comments