George Boole
    n 1: English mathematician; creator of Boolean algebra
         (1815-1864) [syn: Boole, George Boole]

	

	George Boole
Boole, George

    1815-11-02 - 2008-05-11 22:58
   best known for his contribution to symbolic logic (Boolean
   Algebra) but also active in other fields such as probability
   theory, algebra, analysis, and differential equations.  He
   lived, taught, and is buried in Cork City, Ireland.  The Boole
   library at University College Cork is named after him.

   For centuries philosophers have studied logic, which is
   orderly and precise reasoning.  George Boole argued in 1847
   that logic should be allied with mathematics rather than with
   philosophy.

   Demonstrating logical principles with mathematical symbols
   instead of words, he founded symbolic logic, a field of
   mathematical/philosophical study.  In the new discipline he
   developed, known as Boolean algebra, all objects are divided
   into separate classes, each with a given property; each class
   may be described in terms of the presence or absence of the
   same property.  An electrical circuit, for example, is either
   on or off.  Boolean algebra has been applied in the design of
   binary computer circuits and telephone switching equipment.
   These devices make use of Boole's two-valued (presence or
   absence of a property) system.

   Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK, George Boole was the son of
   a tradesman and was largely self-taught.  He began teaching at
   the age of 16 to help support his family.  In his spare time
   he read mathematical journals and soon began to write articles
   for them.  By the age of 29, Boole had received a gold medal
   for his work from the British Royal Society.  His
   'Mathematical Analysis of Logic', a pamphlet published in
   1847, contained his first statement of the principles of
   symbolic logic.  Two years later he was appointed professor of
   mathematics at Queen's College in Ireland, even though he had
   never studied at a university.

   He died in Ballintemple, Ireland, on 1864-12-08.

   Compton's Encyclopedia Online
   (http://comptons2.aol.com/encyclopedia/ARTICLES/00619_A.html).

   (1998-11-19)