There has never been any doubt as to the importance of the logarithm, a mathematical relation whose usefulness has persisted in different aspects to the present day. Within years of their introduction, logarithms became indispensable for mathematicians, astronomers, navigators, and geographers alike. The question of their origins, however, is more contentious. At least two scholars, the Scottish nobleman John Napier and the Swiss craftsman Jost Bürgi, simultaneously and independently produced proposals...