<P> The English amateur mathematician William Shanks , a man of independent means , spent over 20 years calculating π to 707 decimal places . This was accomplished in 1873 , with the first 527 places correct . He would calculate new digits all morning and would then spend all afternoon checking his morning 's work . This was the longest expansion of π until the advent of the electronic digital computer three - quarters of a century later . </P>
<P> The English amateur mathematician William Shanks , a man of independent means , spent over 20 years calculating π to 707 decimal places . This was accomplished in 1873 , with the first 527 places correct . He would calculate new digits all morning and would then spend all afternoon checking his morning 's work . This was the longest expansion of π until the advent of the electronic digital computer three - quarters of a century later . </P>
what english mathematician calculated the value of pi to 707
what english mathematician calculated the value of pi to 707
William Shanks
William Shanks