the first know ues of mathematical induction occurs in the work of the Italian scientist Francesco Maurolico in 1575. in the seventeenth century both pierre de fermat and blaise pascal used the technique, fermat calling in the "method of infinite descent." in 1883 augustus de morgan (best known for de morgan's laws) described the process carefully and gave it the name mathematical induction
To visualize the idea of mathematical induction, imagine an infinite collection of dominoes positioned one behind the other in such a way that if any given domino falls backward, it makes the one behind it fall backward also. (see fiqure 4.2.3) Then imagine that the first domino falls backward. what happens? ... They all fall down!