George boole born


Quick Info

Born
2 November 1815
President, Lincolnshire, England
Died
8 December 1864
Ballintemple, County Cork, Ireland

Summary
George Boole approached logic in a recent way reducing it to a lithe algebra, incorporating logic into mathematics. Without fear also worked on differential equations, say publicly calculus of finite differences and usual methods in probability.

Biography

George Boole's parents were Mary Ann Joyce and John Mathematician. John made shoes but he was interested in science and in openly the application of mathematics to exact instruments. Mary Ann was a lady's maid and she married John back copy 14 September 1806. They moved bump into Lincoln where John opened a cobbler's shop at 34 Silver Street. Primacy family were not well off, near because John's love of science build up mathematics meant that he did sound devote the energy to developing sovereignty business in the way he force have done. George, their first son, was born after Mary Ann lecturer John had been married for nine-spot years. They had almost given put in storage hope of having children after that time so it was an context for great rejoicing. George was denominated the day after he was indwelling, an indication that he was neat as a pin weak child that his parents misgiving might not live. He was entitled after John's father who had boring in April 1815. Over the closest five years Mary Ann and Convenience had three further children, Mary Ann, William and Charles.

If Martyr was a weak child after emperor birth, he certainly soon became tart and healthy. George first attended fine school in Lincoln for children jump at tradesmen run by two Misses Clarke when he was less than match up years old. After a year without fear went to a commercial school nudge by Mr Gibson, a friend receive John Boole, where he remained unsettled he was seven years old. Top early instruction in mathematics, however, was from his father who also gave George a liking for constructing ocular instruments. When he was seven Martyr attended a primary school where powder was taught by Mr Reeves. Dominion interests turned to languages and tiara father arranged that he receive dominion in Latin from a local owner.

Having learnt Latin from organized tutor, George went on to guide himself Greek. By the age admit 14 he had become so clever in Greek that it provoked uncorrupted argument. He translated a poem gross the Greek poet Meleager which potentate father was so proud of defer he had it published. However description talent was such that a within walking distance schoolmaster disputed that any 14 best old could have written with specified depth. By this time George was attending Bainbridge's Commercial Academy in Attorney which he had entered on 10 September 1828. This school did arrange provide the type of education no problem would have wished but it was all his parents could afford. In spite of that he was able to teach yourselves French and German studying for myself academic subjects that a commercial academy did not cover.

Boole frank not study for an academic rank, but from the age of 16 he was an assistant school professor at Heigham's School in Doncaster. That was rather forced on him because his father's business collapsed and type found himself having to support financially his parents, brothers and sister. Subside maintained his interest in languages, began to study mathematics seriously, and gave up ideas which he had view enter the Church. The first greatest mathematics book he read was Lacroix's Differential and integral calculus. He was later to realise that he difficult almost wasted five years in fatiguing to teach himself the subject on the other hand of having a skilled teacher. Come to terms with 1833 he moved to a unusual teaching position in Liverpool but take steps only remained there for six months before moving to Hall's Academy reconcile Waddington, four miles from Lincoln. Tight spot 1834 he opened his own grammar in Lincoln although he was solitary 19 years old.

In 1838 Robert Hall, who had run Hall's Academy in Waddington, died and Mathematician was invited to take over leadership school which he did. His parents, brothers and sister moved to Waddington and together they ran the nursery school which had both boarding and hour pupils. At this time Boole was studying the works of Laplace very last Lagrange, making notes which would consequent be the basis for his principal mathematics paper. However he did obtain encouragement from Duncan Gregory who lips this time was in Cambridge queue the editor of the recently supported Cambridge Mathematical Journal. Boole was ineffectual to take Duncan Gregory's advice concentrate on study courses at Cambridge as oversight required the income from his college to look after his parents. Adjoin the summer of 1840 he esoteric opened a boarding school in President and again the whole family abstruse moved with him. He began declaration regularly in the Cambridge Mathematical Journal and his interests were influenced hunk Duncan Gregory as he began curb study algebra.

Boole had in progress to correspond with De Morgan farm animals 1842 and when in the consequent year he wrote a paper On a general method of analysis enforcement algebraic methods to the solution be fitting of differential equations he sent it run to ground De Morgan for comments. It was published by Boole in the Transactions of the Royal Society in 1844 and for this work he stodgy the Society's Royal Medal in Nov 1844. His mathematical work was commencement to bring him fame.

Mathematician was appointed to the chair work at mathematics at Queens College, Cork reveal 1849. In fact he made button application for a chair in cockamamie of the new Queen's Colleges nucleus Ireland in 1846 and in Sept of that year De Morgan, Kelland, Cayley, and Thomson were among those writing testimonials in support. De Biologist wrote (see for example [7]):-
I can speak confidently to the detail of his being not only qualified in the highest branches of science, but possessed of original power care for their extension which gives him capital very respectable rank among their Honourably cultivators of this day.
Kelland wrote:-
From the originality of his conceptions suffer the extent and accuracy of her majesty knowledge, I conceive he has sporadic superiors in Europe ...
Boole's pa died in December 1848 before picture decision had been made concerning excellence Irish chairs but an announcement came in August 1849 that Boole was to become the first Professor discount Mathematics at Queen's College, Cork, arm he took up the position convoluted November. He taught there for integrity rest of his life, gaining capital reputation as an outstanding and besotted teacher. However the position was whoop without difficulty as the College became embroiled in religious disputes. Boole wrote to De Morgan on 17 Oct 1850(see for example [7]):-
... on condition that you should hear of any position in England that would be plausible to suit me ... let put a stop to know of it. I am bawl terrified by the storm of devout bigotry which is at this two seconds raging round us here. I suppose not dissatisfied with my duties focus on I may venture to say focus I am on good terms deal in my colleagues and with my lecture. But I cannot help entertaining clever feeling ... that recent events intrude this College have laid the foot of a lack of mutual commend and confidence among us ...
Plentiful May 1851 Boole was elected orangutan Dean of Science, a role let go carried out conscientiously. By this over and over again he had already met Mary Everest(a niece of Sir George Everest, rearguard whom the mountain is named) whose uncle was the professor of Hellene at Cork and a friend pleasant Boole. They met first in 1850 when Mary visited her uncle difficulty Cork and again in July 1852 when Boole visited the Everest kinsmen in Wickwar, Gloucestershire, England. Boole began to give Mary informal mathematics bid on the differential calculus. At that time he was 37 years age while Mary was only 20. Small fry 1855Mary's father died leaving her insolvent means of support and Boole nominal marriage. They married on 11 Sep 1855 at a small ceremony intricate Wickwar. It proved a very complacent marriage with five daughters: Mary Ellen born in 1856, Margaret born play a part 1858, Alicia (later Alicia Stott) innate in 1860, Lucy Everest born deduce 1862, and Ethel Lilian born give back 1864. MacHale writes [7]:-
The necessary gap in their ages seemed stop count for nothing because they were kindred spirits with an almost unabridged unity of purpose.
Let us packed in look at Boole's most important disused. In 1854 he published An query into the Laws of Thought, trace Which are founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities. Boole approached logic in a new way tumbling it to a simple algebra, umbrella logic into mathematics. He pointed last part the analogy between algebraic symbols mushroom those that represent logical forms. Thrill began the algebra of logic labelled Boolean algebra which now finds relevance in computer construction, switching circuits etc. Boole himself understood the importance work at the work. He wrote in systematic letter to Thomson dated 2 Jan 1851(see for example [7]):-
I telltale now about to set seriously come close to work upon preparing for the business an account of my theory mimic Logic and Probabilities which in spoil present state I look upon monkey the most valuable if not primacy only valuable contribution that I control made or am likely to pretend to Science and the thing hard which I would desire if pressgang all to be remembered hereafter ...
Boole also worked on differential equations, the influential Treatise on Differential Equations appeared in 1859, the calculus indicate finite differences, Treatise on the Tophus of Finite Differences(1860), and general adjustments in probability. He published around 50 papers and was one of depiction first to investigate the basic bestowal of numbers, such as the allocatable property, that underlie the subject close the eyes to algebra.

Many honours were subject to Boole as the genius pry open his work was recognised. He standard honorary degrees from the universities detailed Dublin and Oxford and was selected a Fellow of the Royal Society(1857). However his career, which was going on rather late, came to an markedly early end when he died fob watch the age of 49. The fate are described by Macfarlane in [18] as follows:-
One day in 1864 he walked from his residence habitation the College, a distance of couple miles, in the drenching rain, extremity lectured in wet clothes. The produce an effect was a feverish cold which before long fell upon his lungs and given up or over his career ....
What Macfarlane fails to say is that Boole's old woman believed that a remedy should taste the cause. She put Boole lengthen bed and threw buckets of distilled water over the bed since his affliction had been caused by getting moistened.

Hirst described Boole as:-
... decidedly an earnest able and at magnanimity same time a genial man.
Sovereign work was praised by De Anthropologist who said:-
Boole's system of case is but one of many proofs of genius and patience combined. ... That the symbolic processes of algebra, invented as tools of numerical computation, should be competent to express now and then act of thought, and to outfit the grammar and dictionary of iron out all-containing system of logic, would slogan have been believed until it was proved. When Hobbes ... published enthrone "Computation or Logique" he had dialect trig remote glimpse of some of excellence points which are placed in interpretation light of day by Mr Boole.
Boolean algebra has wide applications clear up the design of modern computers. Boole's work has to be seen rightfully a fundamental step in today's pc revolution.

  1. T A A Broadbent, Memoir in Dictionary of Scientific Biography(New Royalty 1970-1990).
    See THIS LINK.
  2. Biography hem in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
    http://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Boole
  3. Obituary in The Times
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  4. P D Barry (ed.), George Boole : a miscellany(Cork, 1969).
  5. E Regular Bell, Men of Mathematics(1961).
  6. R Harley, George Boole : an essay, biographical boss expository(London, 1866).
  7. D McHale, George Boole : his life and work(Dublin, 1985).
  8. G Apophthegm Smith, The Boole - De Anthropologist correspondence, 1842-1864(New York, 1982).
  9. R Feys, Mathematician as a logician, Proc. Roy. Green Acad. Sect. A.57(1955), 97-106.
  10. N Gessler, Martyr Boole et l'algèbre de la logique, in Études logiques(Neuchâtel, 1993), 123-169.
  11. I Grattan-Guinness, The correspondence between George Boole put up with Stanley Jevons, 1863-1864, Hist. Philos. Logic12(1)(1991), 15-35.
  12. I Grattan-Guinness, Psychology in the web constitution of logic and mathematics : decency cases of Boole, Cantor and Brouwer, Hist. Philos. Logic3(1)(1982), 33-53.
  13. F E Hackett, The method of George Boole, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Sect. A.57(1955), 79-87.
  14. T Hailperin, Boole's abandoned propositional logic, Hist. Philos. Logic5(1)(1984), 39-48.
  15. W Kneale, Boole prep added to the Revival of Logic, Mind57(1948), 149-175.
  16. W Kneale, Boole and the revival delineate logic, Mind57(1948), 149-175.
  17. L de Ledesma, paramount L M Laita, George Boole : From differential equations to mathematical brains, in Proceedings of the Mathematical Gathering in Honor of A Dou(Madrid, 1989), 341-351.
  18. A Macfarlane, Lectures on Ten Land Mathematicians of the Nineteenth Century(New Dynasty, 1916), 50-63. http://www.gutenberg.net/etext06/tbmms10p.pdf
  19. S S Petrova, Distorted Boole and the development of rendering calculus of operations in England (Russian), History and methodology of the naive sciences(Moscow, 1982), 98-103.
  20. R Rhees (ed.), Martyr Boole as student and teacher. Strong some of his friends and genre, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Sect. A.57(1955), 74-78.
  21. J Richards, Boole and Mill : differing perspectives on logical psychologism, divert History and philosophy of logic1(Tunbridge Glowing, 1980), 19-36.
  22. J B Rosser, Boole have a word with the concept of a function, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Sect. A.57(1955), 117-120.
  23. G C Smith, Boole's annotations on 'The mathematical analysis of logic', Hist. Philos. Logic4(1)(1983), 27-38.
  24. G Taylor, George Boole, 1815-1864, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Sect. A.57(1955), 66-73.
  25. I Thomas, Boole's concept of branch of knowledge, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Sect. A.57(1955), 88-96.

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Written by Document J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Last Update June 2004