These lines that bear a name (1)

The Simson and Steiner lines -----------------------------------

The triangle gives rise to many spectacular alignments: among them are the Simson line and its cousin, the Steiner line.

While it is plausible that Robert Simson, a Scottish mathematician, knew of the famous Euler line (see opposite) before Euler himself did, albeit without proof, no written record confirms that he actually found the line that bears his name. The earliest written record of this "Simson line" dates from 1799 and is due… to another Scottish mathematician, William Wallace. This is why it is sometimes called the Wallace–Simson line.