Mathematical Geography in the Eighteenth Century: Euler, Lagrange and Lambert

Abstract

Modern mathematicians rarely consult eighteenth-century sources directly. Language barriers, obsolete notation, and dispersed arguments make such texts seem more cumbersome than enlightening, especially when contemporary expositions offer streamlined proofs and standardized terminology. Yet this convenience comes at a cost. Conceptual genealogies are flattened, priority questions become blurred, and the historical texture of ideas is largely lost. Mathematical Geography in the Eighteenth Century: Euler, Lagrange and Lambert sets out to counter this tendency. The volume brings together carefully annotated English translations of key writings on cartography and geographical measurement, accompanied by substantial historical and mathematical essays. Its ambition is not merely archival. Rather, it aims to recover a moment when practical geographical problems – map projections, longitude determination, and the measurement of the Earth –served as powerful engines for theoretical innovation