Who discovered zero (0)?

 

The concept of zero as a numerical value was independently discovered by ancient civilizations in several parts of the world, including the Babylonians, Mayans, and Indians.

The Babylonians used a placeholder in their sexagesimal numeral system around 4000 years ago, which allowed them to perform arithmetic operations such as addition and subtraction. However, they did not have a symbol for the value of zero and treated it as simply a placeholder.

In the Mayan civilization, which existed in present-day Mexico and Central America, the concept of zero was used as both a placeholder and a symbol. The Mayans used a shell-shaped symbol to represent the idea of empty or nothingness, which was later adapted to represent the value of zero.

In ancient India, the mathematician and astronomer Brahmagupta is credited with developing the concept of zero as a number in its own right in the 7th century AD. He used the Sanskrit word "śūnya" to refer to the idea of emptiness or nothingness, which was later translated into Arabic as "sifr", and then into Latin as "zero".

The Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata also contributed to the development of the concept of zero. He used the symbol "0" in his text "Aryabhatiya", written in 499 AD, to represent the value of an empty place in a number.

The Indian numeral system and the concept of zero were later introduced to the Arab world through the translation of Sanskrit texts into Arabic. The mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who lived in Baghdad in the 9th century, popularized the Indian numeral system in the Arab world and Europe through his book "Al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala".

The use of zero and the Indian numeral system spread to Europe through the works of Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, who was introduced to the system while traveling in North Africa. He brought the Indian numeral system back to Europe and popularized it in his book "Liber Abaci", published in 1202.

In conclusion, the discovery of zero as a numerical value was a gradual process that was independently achieved by several ancient civilizations and further developed by mathematicians and astronomers over the centuries. The symbol "0" and the concept of zero as a number in its own right have been crucial to the development of mathematics and continue to play a vital role in our daily lives.