Power Rule for Derivatives/Historical Note

Historical Note on Power Rule for Derivatives

The Power Rule for Derivatives was stated, without proof or explanation, by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz in his $1684$ article Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis, published in Acta Eruditorum.

Isaac Newton had established exactly the same result in a privately circulated paper of $1669$: On Analysis by Means of Equations with an Infinite Number of Terms, by investigating the nature of a function whose area under the graph is $x^m$.


Sources

  • 1992: George F. Simmons: Calculus Gems ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text {A}.19$: Leibniz ($\text {1646}$ – $\text {1716}$)
  • 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $8$: The System of the World: Leibniz
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