E (mathematical constant)

Euler's number
e
2.71828...
General information
TypeTranscendental
History
Discovered1685
ByJacob Bernoulli
First mentionQuæstiones nonnullæ de usuris, cum solutione problematis de sorte alearum, propositi in Ephem. Gall. A. 1685
Named after

The number e is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828 that is the base of the natural logarithm and exponential function. It is sometimes called Euler's number, after the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, though this can invite confusion with Euler numbers, or with Euler's constant, a different constant typically denoted . Alternatively, e can be called Napier's constant after John Napier. The Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli discovered the constant while studying compound interest.

The number e is of great importance in mathematics, alongside 0, 1, π, and i. All five appear in one formulation of Euler's identity and play important and recurring roles across mathematics. Like the constant π, e is irrational, meaning that it cannot be represented as a ratio of integers, and moreover it is transcendental, meaning that it is not a root of any non-zero polynomial with rational coefficients. To 30 decimal places, the value of e is:

2.718281828459045235360287471352