This article gives a brief history of the analysis and computation of the mathematical
constant π = 3.14159 . . ., including a number of the formulas that have been used to
compute π through the ages. Recent developments in this area are then discussed in
some detail, including the recent computation of π to over six billion decimal digits using
high-order convergent algorithms, and a newly discovered scheme that permits arbitrary
individual hexadecimal digits of π to be computed.