Note on the History of (Square) Matrix and Determinant

Abstract

This paper reviews the theory of matrices and determinants. Matrix and determinant are nowadays considered inseparable to some extent, but the determinant was discovered over two centuries before the term matrix was coined. Our review associate determinant with the matrix as part of linear systems but not with polynomials. Thus, the paper first gives the background on matrix with vast applications in all fields of study and then reviews the history of determinants which is based on its major contributors in chronological order from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first century.