“Black History in Maths – celebrating Thomas Fuller” attracted more than 8500 children from across the country to digital workshops for Black History Month on 22 October.
Participants were invited to explore the story of the brilliant mathematician Thomas Fuller who was sold into slavery as a boy 300 years ago this year. Thomas was an incredibly talented mathematician and became world famous for his ability to perform complex calculations at great speed.
With help from real-life mathematician, Professor Nira Chamberlain OBE, pupils exercised their mental-maths-muscles, taking part in challenges and discovering more about the roots of maths in Africa from Morocco to Eswatini.
During a fast-paced fifty minutes Nira and the team were inundated with questions about Thomas Fuller, Nira’s career and whether mental maths is still relevant now that so many of us have smart phones. Apparently it is!
For 88% of teachers, Black History in Maths – celebrating Thomas Fuller was the first time they had taught Black History in a maths lesson. Teacher feedback highlighted the value of this approach: “Engaging, fun, diverse and ability to show different famous mathematicians not just middle aged white men” and “all the pupils learnt something. We have a high number of black pupils and this event raises the profile of black mathematicians.“
If you’d like to test your knowledge, have a go at the Black History in Maths True or False Quiz.
- Maths originated in Africa. True or False?
TRUE. The oldest known mathematical artefact is the Lebombo bone, a baboon’s fibula (which is a leg bone) with 29 notches that was discovered in the 1970s in the Lebombo Mountains of Eswatini in southern Africa.
2. The oldest universities to teach maths are Oxford and Cambridge. True or False?
FALSE. Africa is home to the world’s oldest university – the University of Al Quaraouiyine in Fez, Morocco.
3. The oldest maths textbook was written in Ancient Greece. True or False?
FALSE. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus from Ancient Egypt is one of the oldest known mathematical textbooks. It contains problems related to geometry, fractions, and algebra, much like what you can find in maths textbooks today.
4. The Field’s Medal, the most important award in the world for maths, was first won by a black mathematician.True or False?
FALSE. The Fields Medal has never been won by a black mathematician, at least not yet! Let’s change that and make sure everyone knows that mathematics is for EVERYONE.
Black History in Maths – celebrating Thomas Fuller was funded by the Heilbronn Institute and the London Mathematical Society.