Happy Wednesday!
Hispanic Heritage Month is coming to a close, and we want to highlight one last remarkable Hispanic/Latino man who has contributed to the world of math. As always, this excerpt is from Dreambox.com. Our final Mathematician of this series is Júlio César de Mello e Souza.
Writers from Dream box write, “Júlio César de Mello e Souza was a Brazilian writer, educator and mathematics professor. He was known for his entertaining books explaining mathematics, most of them published under the pen names of Malba Tahan and Breno de Alencar Bianco. Many of his most popular books incorporate mathematical word problems and puzzles into whimsical stories inspired by the Arabian Nights. His most famous work, The Man Who Counted, recounts the adventures of Beremiz Samir, who uses extraordinary mathematical superpowers to battle dangerous enemies and win fame and fortune.”
Dream Box writers finish with, “Many educators credit Júlio César de Mello e Souza with being an innovator, far ahead of his time, for his use of stories and games to engage students in learning math skills. The Malba Tahan Institute was founded in 2004 by the Brazilian government to preserve this talented writer and mathematician’s legacy. The State Legislature of Rio de Janeiro declared his birthday, May 6, a national holiday: Mathematician’s Day.”
We hope you enjoyed our series! Be sure to check out last week’s Hispanic Highlights. Follow our social media pages for weekly updates on the center.
-Danica Komlofske
