His daughter's work is more popular than his own. And there are no fewer people who are not friends with mathematics. It would be worth them to get acquainted with the works of the father of the famous writer.
People say that only those who were able to master the discipline can become a real teacher. This man managed not only to cope with math, which we all dislike at school, but also to invent a way that will help all the sufferers sitting at their desks.
Childhood
John Boole lived in the English provincial town of Lincoln. He was a simple shoemaker, but his whole life he strove for knowledge. When in November 1815 his wife gave him a son, the worker decided that he would certainly raise a literate person. The boy was named George and from a young age encouraged his curiosity.
The family was not rich, there was no one to spend money on education for a child in a prestigious school. John sent his heir to the most ordinary educational institution, and in the evenings he began to invite friends who were reputed to be the local intelligentsia. George listened to the conversations of adults, could get an answer to any question and even take part in an argument. The parent wanted to see him as a mathematician, but the boy became friends with the bookseller and became interested in literature. Soon the twelve-year-old schoolboy was fluent in Latin. Later, the teenager mastered 4 more languages and began to think about getting holy orders. Not everything was going smoothly with the boy's exact sciences.
Youth
In 1831, bad times set in for Bulya. The family's financial situation deteriorated. George could no longer remain a freeloader and began looking for work. The prodigy was immediately offered a job as a schoolteacher's assistant. They did not promise to pay much, but access to the library and time for self-education were provided in unlimited quantities. The young man agreed.
For four years the young man could only satisfy his hunger for knowledge. Parents not only tolerated this behavior of their son, but also encouraged him. The fact is that, having started his career, George became interested in mathematics. He not only mastered everything that he missed in school, but also began to put forward his own hypotheses. A talented self-taught did not want to vegetate on the outskirts of a provincial school. He looked for ways to communicate his findings to a wide audience. In 1835, he opened his own educational institution, where he helped children learn mathematics. The methods this teacher used worked.
Success
In 1839, Boulle was able to publish his article in a scientific journal. It was very unusual - a person without higher education is published in reputable periodicals. They paid attention to the young man. In 1844, the Royal Scientific Society recognized George Boole's achievements in mathematics with a medal.
The phenomenon attracts attention but is generally not credible. The journals published the articles of the award winner, but it was not so easy to make a scientific career. Our hero was able to find a place in the teaching staff of the university when he was invited to Queens College in the Irish city of Cork. Colleagues who knew the mathematician well from among the people insisted that Buhl should be invited to the professorship of this institution, which had recently opened its doors for students.
Pundit
Simple guy Buhl quickly won the sympathy of the UK scholarly community. In 1855, the famous geographer George Everest, whose name will be given to the highest mountain peak in the world, introduced him to his niece Mary, who worked as a teacher and was a very interesting conversationalist. Soon, a fundamental change took place in the personal life of our hero - he married his new friend.
The wife admired the Lincoln nugget. She created all the conditions for him to work fruitfully. The fanaticism of this person sometimes crossed all boundaries: when Mary found her faithful for literary work, she threw his manuscripts into the fireplace. Having entered into legal marriage, George Boole stopped writing poems and making translations of classics. His wife gave him five daughters, the biography of each of them is worthy of a separate story.
Confession
In 1857 the professor without a diploma became a member of the Royal Society of London. What is so curious that George Boole has discovered? Having independently studied mathematics, he proposed to approach this discipline from the point of view of formal logic. He denied the practice of "memorizing" rules and formulas, proposing to solve all problems on their own. A great original and a good teacher suggested using allegories for memorization. This scientist is considered the founder of mathematical logic.
Boole's contribution to mathematics can be appreciated even by a person who is not interested in this discipline. Nowadays, the scientist's ideas are used in electronic devices. It is he who owns the opinion that there are only 2 answer options, which later found its reflection in the work of the computer.
Sudden death
Nothing foreshadowed trouble. George Boole lectured at college, wrote and published his scientific works, and devoted time to his family. In the late autumn of 1864, on his way to work, he got caught in the rain. The consequence of this incident was pneumonia. In early December of the same year, the scientist died.
Mary, having lost her husband, continued his work. She collected and organized all the manuscripts of George Boole, found publishers who were ready to present them to the reader. Two daughters of Boulle followed in the footsteps of their father and became scientists, two - married scientists, the youngest daughter Ethel Lilian Voynich became famous as a writer.
