Who Invented Algebra?

Ever been curious about who invented algebra? Algebra wasn't invented to torture you; in fact, it has its beginnings in ancient history.

Ancient Babylon
The mathematical principals of algebra have their roots in distant history with the ancient Babylonians. As far back as 1900 BC, the Babylonians used algebra to solve for unknown variables. At that point, the Greeks and the Chinese were still using geometric methods to solve mathematical problems, instead of utilizing algebraic equations. The Babylonians were the first people to use algebraic formulas to solve problems, but they didn't refine the practice.

Diophantus and His Arithmetica
A mathematician named Diophantus, who lived in ancient Alexandria around 200 AD, set the foundation of algebraic methods of problem solving. Diophantus wrote Arithmetica, a book that described how to solve different problems. Unfortunately, Diophantus didn't have a unified method of problem solving that worked for all algebraic equations; his methods were highly specialized, and what worked for one problem might not work for the next. Standard methods wouldn't appear until al-Khwarizmi redefined algebra in his book.

Indian Contributions to Algebra
Brahmagupta was an Indian astronomer and mathematician. Brahmagupta's mathematics were largely related to the physical world, namely astronomy, instead of being concerned with the mathematics themselves. His main work, The Corrected Treatise of Brahma, deals more with the practical application of mathematics instead of the math itself. Brahmagupta developed several important algebraic formulas, including the linear equation, the quadratic equation and indeterminate equations. Brahmagupta laid the groundwork for the next significant work that followed.

The Book of Summary Concerning Calculating by Transposition and Reduction
That mouthful of a title belongs to the book that helped to develop modern algebra. Written by Muslim mathematician Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, the book, and the al-jabr that arose from it, offered ways to solve mathematical problems using algebraic systems. The word "algebra" derives from the "al-jabr" in the book's Arabic title, which means "reunion." While other mathematicians have contributed to the evolution of algebra, al-Khwarizmi is generally considered the father of algebra for his contributions to the field in 820 AD.

al-Khwarizmi managed to come up with a unified system for generalized problem solving, unlike Diophantus's problem-specific solutions. Some of al-Khwarizmi's algebraic methodology is still used today, and he is rightly credited with bringing great developments to the field.

Modern Algebra
Since al-Khwarizmi, other mathematicians have added their contributions to the development of algebra. Many of al-Khwarizmi's equations and proofs are still used today, but so are the contributions of mathematicians such as Gottfried Leibniz, the founder of Boolean algebra. 

SOURCES

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_algebra

http://www.ehow.com/video_4977241_who-invented-algebra.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061016054054AAHMQ6d

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/109875

http://www.chacha.com/question/who-invented-algebra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_algebra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diophantus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmagupta