The multiplication symbol

In 1631, the multiplication symbol × was introduced by the English mathematician William Oughtred ( 1574-1660 ) in his book Keys to Mathematics, published in London. Incidentally, this Anglican minister is also famous for having invented the slide rule, which was used by generations of scientists and mathematicians. The slide rule’s doom in the mid-1970s, due to the pervasive influx of inexpensive pocket calculators, was rapid and unexpected.