The Development of Prime Number Theory

1. People were already interested in prime numbers in ancient times, and the first result concerning the distribution of primes appears in Euclid's Elemen­ ta, where we find a proof of their infinitude, now regarded as canonical. One feels that Euclid's argument has its place in The Book, often quoted by the late Paul ErdOs, where the ultimate forms of mathematical arguments are preserved. Proofs of most other results on prime number distribution seem to be still far away from their optimal form