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diff --git a/docs/source/history.rst b/docs/source/history.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b159284 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/source/history.rst @@ -0,0 +1,27 @@ +.. _chapter-history: + +======= +History +======= + +Ceres Solver grew out of the need for general least squares solving at +Google. In early 2010, Sameer Agarwal and Fredrik Schaffalitzky +started the development of Ceres Solver. Fredrik left Google shortly +thereafter and Keir Mierle stepped in to take his place. After two +years of on-and-off development, Ceres Solver was released as open +source in May of 2012. + +Origin of the name +------------------ + +While there is some debate as to who invented the method of Least +Squares [Stigler]_, there is no debate that it was `Carl Friedrich +Gauss +<http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Gauss.html>`_ +who brought it to the attention of the world. Using just 22 +observations of the newly discovered asteroid `Ceres +<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)>`_, Gauss used the +method of least squares to correctly predict when and where the +asteroid will emerge from behind the Sun [TenenbaumDirector]_. We +named our solver after Ceres to celebrate this seminal event in the +history of astronomy, statistics and optimization. |