资料来源 : WordNet®

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

资料来源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

George Boole
     
         1815-11-02 - 1864-12-08.  An English mathematician
        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)