Edward Kasner American mathematician, professor Date of Birth: 08.04.1878 Country: USA

1. Edward Kasner: The Mathematician Behind Googol and Googolplex
2. Early Life and Education
3. The Coining of "Googol" and "Googolplex"
4. Publication and Popularization
5. Influence on Google

Edward Kasner: The Mathematician Behind Googol and Googolplex

Edward Kasner was an American mathematician known for his contributions to mathematics, including the coinage of the terms "googol" and "googolplex."

Early Life and Education

Born in New York City, Edward Kasner enrolled at Columbia University, where he earned his doctorate in 1899. Throughout his academic career, he exhibited a keen interest in mathematics and geometry.

The Coining of "Googol" and "Googolplex"

In the early 1920s, Kasner sought to create memorable names for large numbers. During a family outing in Palisades, New Jersey, he consulted his nephews, Milton and Edwin Sirotta, for ideas. Inspired by Milton's suggestion, Kasner proposed "googol" for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. Together with his young nephew, he also coined the term "googolplex," representing 1 followed by a googol of zeros.

Publication and Popularization

In 1940, Kasner co-authored "Mathematics and the Imagination" with James R. Newman, where the terms "googol" and "googolplex" were first formally introduced. However, some sources attribute their initial publication to Kasner's article "New Names in Mathematics" in 1938.

Influence on Google

Nearly four decades after Kasner's death in 1955, his legacy extended far beyond mathematics. When Larry Page and Sergey Brin were brainstorming a name for their search engine in 1997, they mistakenly thought "googol" represented 1 followed by 100,000 zeros instead of 100. They were impressed by the term's scale and adopted a misspelled version, "Google," for their company's name.