His method of formal logic—defining statements as true or false—has been used extensively in computer programming and hardware design since the late 1940s.
George Boole, the British creator of a mathematico-logical system that bears his name, was born in Lincoln, England. He began his career as a schoolteacher, writing articles on mathematics in his spare time. These investigations led to the book Mathematical Analysis of Logic. Queen‘s University at Cork, Ireland, recognized Boole‘s contributions and offered him the chair of mathematics in 1848. This opportunity allowed Boole to extend his studies and produce his most significant work: An Investigation of the Laws of Thought. Dublin and Oxford Universities awarded Boole honorary degrees, the Royal Society of London elected him as a fellow, and he was elected as an honorary member of the Cambridge Philosophical Society in 1858. Boole died of pneumonia on 8 December 1864, at the age of 50.
—Abridged from This Day in History (Computer History Museum) retrieved 2010-11-02.
No comments:
Post a Comment