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Publication of Mercantile Arithmetic

When: 1489
Where: Leipzig
Part of: Publication of Widmann's mercantile arithmetic in Leipzig

Widmann published his arithmetic text in Leipzig in 1489, introducing plus and minus signs for business calculations.

The book, titled Behende und hüpsche Rechenung auff allen Kauffmanschafft, was published in Leipzig. It utilized plus and minus symbols to represent surpluses and deficits in trade, marking their first appearance in print.

Sources

Johannes Widmann Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-29

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.