Observation on the history of central \(B\)-splines (Q1203001)

The paper tells the story how (basic) splines have been considered in a variety of publications, independently discovered and rediscovered, until receiving final recognition in the pioneering paper of \textit{I. J. Schoenberg}, Q. J. Appl. Math. 4, 112-141 (1946); ibid., 45-90 (1946). Not going as far back as Euler, Laplace, and Peano (mentioned by Schoenberg), the authors concentrate their efforts to the period 1895- 1940, with a special attention to the work of Maurer, Lerch, Sommerfeld, Pólya, Viggo Brun, and Fränz. Bibliography contains 79 items.