The historical development of texts for teaching classical control of linear systems

Nowadays there are many good textbooks on classical control in the English language. The fact that many of them are similar in scope and content seems to suggest that the field has reached maturity. The first books on classical control were published shortly before the World War II. It is possible to detect a few early books that had a strong influence on how the field was to evolve, at least in what concerns textbooks. Several topics have been dropped throughout the years, many have converged to a “standard” form of presentation, and others were included on the way. The main aim of this paper was to describe the development in the content of classical control textbooks and to illustrate the great diversity of terms used in the early days of the field. Emphasis is placed on books published in the 1940s and 1950s. This historical point of view is especially relevant to those who teach control at various levels and will provide motivation for students.