A History Of Mathematical Notations Here

: Symbols rarely gained immediate acceptance. Cajori documents the "competition" between rival notations—such as the various ways to denote multiplication—before one eventually became the standard.

Florian Cajori's History of Mathematical Notations - MAA.org A History of Mathematical Notations

– Covers number systems (Babylonian, Egyptian, etc.), arithmetic symbols ( −negative ), and elementary geometry. : Symbols rarely gained immediate acceptance