George Boole

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George Boole

• English mathematician and a founder of the
  algebraic tradition in logic. Known as the
  founder of the field of computer science.

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Booles Personal Life

• George Boole was born November 2, 1815 in
  Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, into a family of
  modest means, with a father who was evidently
  more of a good companion than a good breadwinner.
  His father was a shoemaker whose real passion was
  being a devoted dilettante in the realm of
  science and technology, one who enjoyed
  participating in the Lincoln Mechanics'
  Institution this was essentially a community
  social club promoting reading, discussions, and
  lectures regarding science. It was founded in
  1833, and in 1834 Boole's father became the
  curator of its library. This love of learning was
  clearly inherited by Boole. Without the benefit
  of an elite schooling, but with a supportive
  family and access to excellent books, in
  particular from Sir Edward Bromhead, FRS, who
  lived only a few miles from Lincoln, Boole was
  able to essentially teach himself foreign
  languages and advanced mathematics.

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Booles Work

• George Boole (the Father of Symbolic Logic) was
  probably the most illustrious academic who ever
  worked at University College, Cork (then Queen's
  College, Cork). He was not only a mathematical
  genius but also a fine humanitarian. A strong
  minded individual, he was prepared to engage in
  protracted and bitter arguments with academic
  colleagues. His revolutionary advances in
  mathematics are today fundamental aspects of
  computer science and electronics and his Boolean
  Algebra is used to design and operate computers
  and other electronic devices. The definitive
  biography of Boole is 'George Boole His Life and
  Work', by Desmond MacHale, (Boole Press, 1985).

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Booles Contribution to Computer Science

• Boolean algebra provides the basis for analyzing
  the validity of logical propositions because it
  captures the two-valued character (binary) of
  statements that may be either true or false.
• In 1930s, a number of researchers noticed that
  Boole's two valued logic lent itself to a
  description of electrical switching circuits.
  They showed that the binary numbers (0 and 1),
  combined through Boolean algebra, could be used
  to analyze electrical switching circuits and thus
  used to design electronic computers. Today,
  digital computers and electronic circuits are
  designed to implement this binary arithmetic.
• Boolean algebra is named after him, as is the
  crater Boole on the Moon. The keyword Bool
  represents a Boolean datatype in many programming
  languages, though Pascal and Java, among others,
  both use the full name Boolean. The library,
  underground lecture theatre complex and the Boole
  Centre for Research in Informatics at University
  College Cork are named in his honour.

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George Boole