The first English translation of Euclid

The first translation of Euclid's Elements into English was made by H. Billingsley, then Mayor of London (!), and published in 1582 by John Daye. It is surely the most elaborate of all editions of Euclid. Billingsley had technical advice from the notorious self-styled mathematician John Dee, and the edition includes a famous preface by him.

All images on this page are from photographs made at the Thomas L. Fisher Library at the University of Toronto. We wish to express our gratitude to the librarian, Richard Landon, and the staff there for their assistance in producing them.