Silverman, Tate, Rational Points on Elliptic Curves

In 1961 the second author deliv1lred a series of lectures at Haverford Col­ lege on the subject of "Rational Points on Cubic Curves. " These lectures, intended for junior and senior mathematics majors, were recorded, tran­ scribed, and printed in mimeograph form. Since that time they have been widely distributed as photocopies of ever decreasing legibility, and por­ tions have appeared in various textbooks (Husemoller [1], Chahal [1]), but they have never appeared in their entirety. In view of the recent inter­ est in the theory of elliptic curves for subjects ranging from cryptogra­ phy (Lenstra [1], Koblitz [2]) to physics (Luck-Moussa-Waldschmidt [1]), as well as the tremendous purely mathematical activity in this area, it seems a propitious time to publish an expanded version of those original notes suitable for presentation to an advanced undergraduate audience.