A cubic polynomial is a polynomial of degree 3. A univariate cubic polynomial has the form a x^3+b x^2+c x+d. An equation involving a cubic polynomial is called a cubic equation. A closed-form solution known as the cubic formula exists for the solutions of an arbitrary cubic equation.
The solution to the cubic (as well as the quartic) was published by Gerolamo Cardano (1501-1576) in his treatise Ars Magna. However, Cardano was not the original discoverer of either of these results. The hint for the cubic had been provided by Niccolٍ Tartaglia , while the quartic had been solved by Ludovico Ferrari. However, Tartaglia himself had probably caught wind of the solution from another source. The solution was apparently first arrived at by a little-remembered professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna by the name of Scipione del Ferro (ca. 1465-1526). While del Ferro did not publish his solution, he disclosed it to his student Antonio Maria Fior (Boyer and Merzbach 1991, p. 283). This is apparently where Tartaglia learned of the solution around 1541.
