The history and development of matrix theory is summarized as follows:
1) The term "matrix" was introduced in 1850 by James Joseph Sylvester to describe rectangular arrays of numbers or expressions arranged in rows and columns.
2) The founder of modern matrix theory is considered to be Arthur Cayley, who in the 1850s introduced concepts such as inverse matrices and matrix multiplication.
3) Important developments in matrix theory continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, including the discovery by Arthur Cayley and William Hamilton of unique properties of matrices.