A new exhibition celebrating the life and legacy of one of the world’s finest mathematicians, who we have to thank for the technology behind all modern-day computers, will open in his home city this summer.
George Boole, who was born in Lincoln in 1815, was a self-taught mathematical genius whose work forms the basis of computer science and electronic circuitry. Boole laid the foundations of the digital era and is widely recognised as the forefather of the information age.
To celebrate the bicentenary of his birth, the University of Lincoln, UK, will host an illuminating exhibition showcasing a timeline of Boole’s life through an extensive archive of his correspondence, academic work and personal items. Taking place in the University of Lincoln’s award-winning Great Central Warehouse Library, The Life and Legacy of George Boole, will run from Monday 13th July – Friday 11th September 2015. The exhibition is open to all and is free to attend.
The Life and Legacy of George Boole has been created by the institution at which Boole spent much of his academic career, University College Cork, where the same exhibition will run simultaneously. It was during his time in Cork that Boole wrote his most influential work, An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, which was published in 1854 and centred on his theory of logic and probabilities.
Ian Snowley, Librarian at the University of Lincoln, said: “George Boole is one of the key figures in Lincoln’s history, whose impact on mathematics, logic and computing makes him someone who should be celebrated today. I’m delighted that we are able to stage this exhibition in Lincoln, Boole’s birthplace, at the same time as it is held in Cork, his adopted home. This is also the first time we’ve been able to mount an exhibition in the University Library, and I look forward to welcoming visitors from across the city and the county.”
Boole was born on 2nd November 1815 into modest family circumstances in Lincoln, where his father was a shoemaker and his mother a lady’s maid. He went on to work as a teacher and devoted himself to the study of mathematics. In 1844 he was awarded the Royal Society’s first Royal Medal for Mathematics, and became the first Professor of Mathematics at Queen’s College Cork in 1849.
The full potential of Boole’s ideas lay unrealised for seventy years until American engineer Claude Shannon recognised the relevance of Boole’s symbolic logic. Shannon used Boole’s Mathematical Analysis of Logic to establish the basis of modern digital computer circuits. It took almost a century for George Boole’s work to see fruition, but the simplicity and genius behind Boole’s ideas eventually came into their own.
Today, his legacy surrounds us everywhere – the modern computing device, whether it is a mobile phone, iPad, tablet computer or mainframe work station is essentially a Boolean calculator where information such as video, photos and audio are digitised and processed for our work and enjoyment.
The Life and Legacy of George Boole is backed by funding from the London Mathematical Society as part of its Local Heroes Exhibitions initiative. It is supported by the University of Lincoln’s School of Mathematics and Physics, The Lincoln Boole Foundation and Lincoln Cathedral.
In October, the exhibition will move to Lincoln Cathedral, where there is an ornate stained glass window celebrating George Boole as one of the city’s greats. Later this year, there will also be a series of public lectures celebrating Boole’s life and legacy taking place at the Cathedral and the University of Lincoln.
Dr Evgeny Khukhro, Senior Lecturer in Lincoln’s School of Mathematics and Physics and member of the London Mathematical Society, said: “George Boole was a true local hero. He taught himself to become one of the most influential minds of the 19th century and his work shows us that mathematics is a most creative and forward-looking subject. His development of mathematical logic was revolutionary for the subject, and particularly to algebra, which is one of the key focuses of our research here at Lincoln. Boole’s intellectual heroism continues to inspire us in our quest for new mathematical discoveries.”
Professor Terry Lyons FRS, President of the London Mathematical Society, commented: “Boole’s contribution, and thus Lincoln’s contribution, to mathematical sciences was a profoundly enabling one. It opens the way to change probabilities as new evidence arrives. The techniques underpin so many things. It is great that Lincoln and the London Mathematical Society are working together to bring attention to his contributions.”
As part of The Life and Legacy of George Boole, an interpretation panel will be created for the Cathedral window to inform visitors about his achievements, as well as a special Boole Walking Tour map around Lincoln, ensuring the city continues to remember one of its most influential sons.
-ENDS-
Notes for editors:
For media enquiries, including interview and photography requests, please contact Elizabeth Allen in the University of Lincoln Press Office on email: eallen@lincoln.ac.uk or tel: +44(0)1522 837650.
Exhibition opening times:
The Life and Legacy of George Boole:
Monday 13th July – Friday 11th September
July and September opening times:
Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm
Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday, 12pm – 5pm
August opening times:
Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm
Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday CLOSED
(Exhibition also closed Monday 10th – Friday 14th August)
Further George Boole activity:
A number of activities will mark George Boole’s bicentenary on 2 November 2015, including: a joint celebration between the City of Cork and the City of Lincoln in September; World Statistics Day on 20th October, designated by the United Nations in recognition of the extraordinary global impact of the work of George Boole; and the outreach programme @Boole2School bringing logic lessons to classrooms around the world on George Boole’s birthday, 2nd November. There are already 26 classes registered from Lincoln. To register your school, visit: www.georgeboole.com/boole2school.
For more on George Boole, visit www.georgeboole.com
The London Mathematical Society:
The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is the UK’s learned society for mathematics and was formed in 1865 to support mathematics and mathematicians. The Society sprang out of the University College Mathematics Society and is one of the oldest national mathematical societies in the world, predated only by national societies in the Netherlands (1778) and Russia (1864). The LMS later served as a model for the Société Mathématique de France (1872) and the American Mathematical Society (1888). It received its Royal Charter on the occasion of its centenary in 1965.
Historically, the membership of the LMS reads as a who’s who of renowned mathematicians, including Arthur Cayley, James Joseph Sylvester, James Clerk Maxwell, William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and Albert Einstein. Today the membership of the LMS totals over 2,300 including many from overseas. The journals published by the LMS similarly attracted the top researchers of their times, including G H Hardy and Ramanujan’s famous collaborative works, and Alan Turing’s seminal paper on computing.
Today the Society continues to publish journals and books, but also provides grants to support mathematics and organising scientific meetings and lectures. The Society is involved in policy and strategic work to support mathematics and the mathematics research community. This work includes engaging with government and policy-makers on mathematics education and research, participating in international mathematical initiatives and promoting the discipline.
In 2015 the LMS will be celebrating its 150th Anniversary, hosting a large programme of events throughout the year. These activities range from lectures and seminars, to mathematics festivals and art exhibitions, with the aim of promoting the central role mathematics takes in modern culture, society, and technology. As a part of this programme, the LMS is proud to sponsor a series of mathematics exhibitions across the UK, celebrating the local mathematical heroes of the participating museums. The United Kingdom has a long tradition of world-leading mathematics research, with mathematicians drawn from every corner of the Isles. This project aims to recognise that such researchers do not form in a vacuum, but are created by the communities and people that supported them.
About the University of Lincoln, UK:
The University of Lincoln was named among the UK’s top 10 modern universities in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015. We have some of the most satisfied students in the UK, rating in the top 20% nationally in a number of subject areas of the National Student Survey 2014. We are recognised for our pioneering approach to working with employers, winning a Lord Stafford Award and a Times Higher Education Award. Graduate prospects are strong with nine out of ten of Lincoln’s most recent graduates in work or further study six months after finishing their course. In the Research Excellence Framework 2014, more than half of our submitted research was judged to be internationally excellent or world leading, with Lincoln ranked in the UK’s top 10 for quality of research outputs in two major subject areas.
