Who came up with the first algebraic equations and why?

Answer 1

the Greek mathematician Diophantus of Alexandria

Algebra has been studied for many centuries. Babylonian, and ancient Chinese and Egyptian mathematicians proposed and solved problems in words, that is, using "rhetorical algebra". However, it was not until the 3rd century that algebraic problems began to be considered in a form similar to those studied today.
In the 3rd century, the Greek mathematician Diophantus of Alexandria wrote his book Arithmetica. Of the 13 parts originally written, only six still survive, but they provide the earliest record of an attempt to use symbols to represent unknown quantities. Diophantus did not consider general methods in Arithmetica, but instead solved a large number of practical problems.
Several Indian mathematicians carried out important work in the field of algebra in the 6th and 7th centuries. These include Aryabhatta, whose book entitled Aryabhatta included work on linear and quadratic equations, and Brahmagupta, who presented a general solution for a quadratic equation.
The next major development in the history of algebra was the book al-Kitab al-muhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala ("Compendium on calculation by completion and balancing"), written by the Arabic mathematician Al-Khwarizmi in the 9th century. The word algebra is derived from al-jabr, or "completion". This book developed methods for solving six different types of quadratic equations, and contained the first systematic consideration of the subject separately from number theory.
In about 1100, the Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam wrote a treatise on algebra based on Euclid's methods. In it he identified 25 types of equations and made the first formal distinction between arithmetic and algebra. Some time later during the 12th century, Al-Khwarizmi's works were translated and became available to Western scholars. In the 13th century Leonardo Fibonacci wrote some important and influential books on algebra. Other highly influential works were those of the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli (1445-1517), and of the English mathematician Robert Recorde (1510-1558).
Rules for solving cubic equations were discovered about 1515 by Scipione del Ferro (c. 1465-1526), and for the quartic equation by Ludovico Ferrari (1522-1565) about 1545. In 1824 Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) finally proved that, in general, it is not possible to give general rules of this kind for solving equations of the fifth degree or higher.
Further contributions to the symbols used in algebra were made in the late 16th century and the 17th century by François Viète (1540-1603) and René Descartes, among others.
Complex and negative roots were a later discovery, and took some time to become accepted. In 1799, Karl Friedrich Gauss proved the fundamental theorem of algebra, which had been proposed as early as 1629.
In the 19th and 20th centuries algebra has become much more abstract and has grown to include much more than the theory of equations. Modern developments in algebra include group theory and the study of matrices.

Answer 2

Good question...wouldn't mind writing some hate mail thanking them for having to go through it in school. Kidding. lol

Link includes history of algebra down the page a bit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra

Answer 3

Couldn't tell you why, but the beginnings of Math seems to be ancient India, then to the middle east, then to Greece. So somewhere in there the first equation was written, I'm sure

Answer 4

It was the ancient indian mathematician named bhramagupta i guess.He does a lot of work and his work being used by the arabians and chinese including the famous al kwharizmi whos name were associated with the name algebra.Al khwarizmi translates his work into arabian.And then the arabs brought it to europe and this one include avicennas work.

Answer 5

I think it was elizabeth teacher,back in 1992,we really didnt understand how a+2 was 4.you know you dont add alphabets.it was so confusing and to top it all,they taught us calculus in high school and laplace and lagrange in college.all because of elizabeth teacher :-(

Answer 6

Avicenna an Arab....... but some say greeks had some knowledge of this and India refer to their mystic books.

Answer 7

someone with to much time on their hands...and they probably had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

Answer 8

Satan. Because he's satan.