An indefatigable mathematician and university teacher at Cambridge, Isaac Todhunter (1820-84) is best remembered for his successful textbooks. This 1865 publication traces the progress of probability theory from its roots in the seventeenth century through to the early nineteenth century and Pierre-Simon Laplace's wide-ranging coverage of the subject.

Throughout his early life, Isaac Todhunter (1820-84) excelled as a student of mathematics, gaining a scholarship at the University of London and numerous awards during his time at St John's College, Cambridge. Taking up fellowship of the college in 1849, he became widely known for both his educational texts and his historical accounts of various branches of mathematics. The present work, first published in 1865, describes the rise of probability theory as a recognised subject, beginning with a discussion of the famous 'problem of points', as considered by the likes of the Chevalier de Méré, Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Subsequently, the application of advanced methods that had been developed in classical areas of mathematics led to rapid progress in probability theory. Todhunter traces this growth, closing with a thorough account of Pierre-Simon Laplace's far-reaching work in the area.