quote:
every book I've seen on matrix algebra or linear algebra seem[s] to just define the matrix operations without providing any historical background
Talk:Matrix multiplication - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AMatrix_multiplication
relevant material:
When was Matrix Multiplication invented?
http://www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/history/matrix/
Matrices and determinants
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/Matrices_and_determinants.html
EDIT:
I have now found many links discussing the rationale for matrix multiplication,
but in particular I am looking for primary sources for Cayley other than:
A Memoir on the Theory of Matrices on JSTOR
http://www.jstor.org/stable/108649?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
