George Boole

George Boole (1815-1864), British mathematician and logician, who developed Boolean algebra. Largely self-educated, Boole in 1849 was appointed Professor of Mathematics at Queen's College (now University College), Cork, in Ireland. In 1854, in An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, Boole described an algebraic system that later became known as Boolean algebra. In Boolean algebra, logical propositions are denoted by symbols and can be acted on by abstract mathematical operators that correspond to the laws of logic. Boolean algebra is of prime importance in the study of pure mathematics and in the design of modern computers.