Orthogonal Polynomials and Continued Fractions: From Euler's Point of View

This new and exciting historical book tells how Euler introduced the idea of orthogonal polynomials and how he combined them with continued fractions, as well as how Brouncker's formula of 1655 can be derived from Euler's efforts in Special Functions and Orthogonal Polynomials. The most interesting applications of this work are discussed, including the great Markoff's Theorem on the Lagrange spectrum, Abel's Theorem on integration in finite terms, Chebyshev's Theory of Orthogonal Polynomial...