Searching for math encyclopedia with inventor / date / source by topic. I remember to have seen an encyclopedia-type-of mathematics book that describes for each topic contained in it when and by who it was invented or when it was first mentioned. I.e. quaternion: Hamilton, Ireland, 1843 ( probably the tree anecdote as well. ) I tried Google Books, Amazon, Google, the Open University Library search, but I can't find it anymore. Does anyone know which book it could have been? ( It does exist! It was written for an undergraduate audience, if I remember well. )

The book I was looking for is The Encyclopedia of Mathematics by James Tanton.