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Born
George Boole, (born November 2, 1815, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England—died December 8, 1864, Ballintemple, County Cork, Ireland), English mathematician who helped establish modern symbolic logic and whose algebra of logic, now called Boolean algebra, is basic to the design of digital computer circuits. -
Teaching
When his father’s business declined, George had to work to support the family. From the age of 16 he taught in village schools in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and he opened his own school in Lincoln when he was 20. -
Cambridge Mathematical Journal
oole submitted a stream of original papers to the new Cambridge Mathematical Journal, beginning in 1841 with his “Researches on the Theory of Analytical Transformations. -
gold medal
he was awarded the first Royal Society gold medal in mathematics, he discussed how the methods of algebra and calculus could be combined. Boole soon saw that his algebra could also be applied to logic. -
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algebra of logic,
With Boole in 1847 and 1854 began the algebra of logic, or what is now called Boolean algebra. Boole’s original and remarkable general symbolic method of logical inference, fully stated in Laws of Thought (1854), enables one, given any propositions involving any number of terms, to draw conclusions that are logically contained in the premises. -
became a professor
On the basis of his publications, Boole in 1849 was appointed professor of mathematics at Queen’s College, County Cork (now University College Cork), even though he had no university degree. -
An Investigation into the Laws of Thought
In 1854 he published An Investigation into the Laws of Thought, on Which Are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities, which he regarded as a mature statement of his ideas. The next year he married Mary Everest, niece of Sir George Everest, for whom the mountain is named. The Booles had five daughters. -
Royal Society
In 1857 Boole was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. The influential A Treatise on Differential Equations appeared in 1859 and was followed the next year by its sequel, A Treatise on the Calculus of Finite Differences. Used as textbooks for many years, these works embody an elaboration of Boole’s more important discoveries. -
He died on....
Boole contracted pneumonia after walking three miles from his home to Queen’s College in a rainstorm on November 24, 1864. He died on December 8.