1634
1634 is the year of the first recorded tulip bulb futures contracts.
- Even
- Composite
Where 1634 fits
Why 1634 is special
Trading in bulbs not yet lifted from the ground is where the speculative element entered. The collapse came three years later.
Same number, different meanings
How 1634 is understood across different contexts — never implying one meaning because of another.
- Mathematics
Trading in bulbs not yet lifted from the ground is where the speculative element entered. The collapse came three years later.
- History
In 1634, the Oberammergau Passion Play was first performed, a vow made during plague and kept roughly every decade since (Bavaria).
- Finance & economics
Dutch bulb trading moved to forward contracts from 1634, so buyers were purchasing something that did not yet exist in hand. The mechanism, rather than the flowers, is what made the episode a bubble.
1634 is part of
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (8)
- 1, 2, 19, 38, 43, 86, 817, 1634
- Prime factorisation
- 2 × 19 × 43
- Digit sum
- 14
- Digital root
- 5
Representations
- Decimal
- 1634
- Scientific notation
- 1.634 × 10^3
Roman numerals
M D C X X X I V
MDCXXXIV uses the subtractive pair IV: one before five — five minus one.
Binary
1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
1 × 1,024 + 1 × 512 + 0 × 256 + 0 × 128 + 1 × 64 + 1 × 32 + 0 × 16 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 1 × 2 + 0 × 1 = 1,634
Octal
3 1 4 2
3 × 512 + 1 × 64 + 4 × 8 + 2 × 1 = 1,634
Hexadecimal
6 6 2
6 × 256 + 6 × 16 + 2 × 1 = 1,634
Read as powers of two: 1,024 + 512 + 64 + 32 + 2 = 1,634.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
1 lotus, 6 coils of rope, 3 hobbles, 4 strokes
1 × 1,000 + 6 × 100 + 3 × 10 + 4 × 1 = 1,634. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Babylonian
2 corner wedges + 7 vertical wedges (sixties place), 1 corner wedge + 4 vertical wedges (units place)
27 × 60 + 14 = 1634. Places are separated by a space on the tablet, with the higher place written first.
Systems that simply cannot reach this value are left out. Where a script needs a font most readers do not have, the reading is given instead of the glyphs — see number systems for each system in full.
Other mathematical patterns
- Deficient number
- Narcissistic (Armstrong) number
Related numbers & connections
1634 is a year in the 17th century, in the 1630s.
Numbers Around Us
- appears inHistorical years
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
History
In 1634, the Oberammergau Passion Play was first performed, a vow made during plague and kept roughly every decade since (Bavaria).
DocumentedHistoryGeography: BavariaPeriod: 1634
Finance & economics
Dutch bulb trading moved to forward contracts from 1634, so buyers were purchasing something that did not yet exist in hand. The mechanism, rather than the flowers, is what made the episode a bubble.
DocumentedFinance & economicsGeography: NetherlandsPeriod: 1634
Common questions
Is 1634 a prime number?
No, 1634 is not prime.
What are the factors of 1634?
The factors of 1634 are 1, 2, 19, 38, 43, 86, 817, 1634.
What is 1634 in Roman numerals?
1634 in Roman numerals is MDCXXXIV. IV is subtractive: one before five — five minus one. Written additively it would be MDCXXXIIII, which Roman inscriptions used freely — the strict subtractive form is a later convention.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 2 reviewer-confirmed records, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026