Introduction

Abstract

Silvestre François Lacroix (Paris, 1765 - ibid., 1843) was not a prominent mathematician, in the sense of someone who creates (or discovers) new mathematics, but he was certainly a most influential mathematical book author. The revolutionary times he lived in, changing political and social structures, changed also the social role of mathematicians and mathematics, through a great expansion of education. Lacroix dedicated his career to the teaching of mathematics, both in person (he taught at numerous institutions, from the École des Gardes de La Marine to the École Polytechnique and the Collège de France) and as a prolific (and much read) textbook writer. He also showed much concern for the history of mathematics, namely writing biographies of several mathematicians for Michaud’s Biographie Universelle.