Nicolas Chuquet (born in 1445 (certain sources indicate 1455) with Paris, France; died in 1488 (certain sources indicate 1500) with Lyon, France) was a Mathématicien French whose imposing work, Triparty in the science of the numbers not-was published of alive sound. The majority of this work, nevertheless, were copied without attribution by Estienne of the Rock in its book going back to 1520, Larismetique. In the years 1870, a scholar Aristide Marre discovered the manuscript of Chuquet and in 1880 published it. The manuscript contained notes of the hand of Rock.

The thought of Chuquet was brilliant and very advances some over its time. He invented his own notation for the concepts algebraic S and the exponentiation S. He seems to have been the first mathematician to have recognized the zero and the negative numbers as exhibitors.

Him our current system of great numbers is also owed:   million, billion, trillion, etc

The word “million” (meaning " large the mille" , therefore well our million) was of use a long time before Chuquet. In 1475 already, Jehan Adam recorded the words “bymillion” and “trimillion” for million power 2 and million power 3 and it is allowed that these words or the other similar ones were of a general use at this period. Chuquet was, nevertheless, the original author of the first use published of a series of names, extended and systematic in - illion or - yllion.

This is why, the system in which names million, billion, trillion, etc refer to the powers of a million is named the system Chuquet .
At the end of the very first chapter of its work “Triparty in the science of the numbers” Nicolas Chuquet written:

"Or which veult the first point peult to mean million, the second point byllion, the third not tryllion, the quarter quadrillion, the fifth quyllion,
the sixth sixlion, the seventh septyllion, the huytième ottyllion, the neufième nonyllion and thus of the aultr' S more oultre one vouloit to proceed themselves.
Idem lon must sauoir that ung million vault thousand thousands of unitez, and ung byllion vault thousand thousands of million. And tryllion vault thousand thousands of byllions.
And ung quadrillion vault thousand a thousand of tryllions and thus ault' S. And of it in is installation ung example diuise number and ponctoye as in front of is known as.
All which number goes up: 745324 trillion, 804300 byllions, 700023 million, 654321.  Example: 745324 ' 804300 ' 700023 ' 654321."

Contrary to many allegations falsifiers, Chuquet - which, as a serious mathematician explains his use of the numbers to the whole beginning of its work - used another design in addition forever, as claim it - without the least proof - certain defenders of the “American style” of the names of great numbers. The work of Chuquet had a small direct influence because its work was not published until the years 1870, but the majority of this one were copied (without attribution) by Rock in part of its book going back to 1520, “Larismetique” which contributed thus much to the adoption of the system Chuquet .

It is undeniable that Chuquet was the author of the first system published (published in work Triparty in the science of the numbers, not by Chuquet, but by Estienne of the Rock) for the names of the great numbers by combining the prefixes derived from the Latin with the suffix - illion.

When at the beginning of the seventeenth century, one started - for better a legibility - to divide large the numbers into groups of three with the place in groups of six, the term “billion” Jacques Pelletier Mans, 1550, was adopted for 10⁹. This system is sometimes called the system of Chuquet-Furrier.

On the councils of some " savants" French, the E. - U. adopted at the beginning of the nineteenth century a reformed system where the billion term means 10⁹. France, after having hesitated throughout the nineteenth century, resolutely turned the new ones to the Chuquet system where the prefixes correspond to the Logarithme S of the million.

Except in particular the Brazil and the United States (and thus the anglophone financial circle), the long scale of Nicolas Chuquet is nowadays largely dominating in the whole world.

See too

• Name of the great numbers

• Jacques Furrier of Mans
• List of the numbers
• Billion