George Boole Papers, Special Collections, Boole Library, UCC

 

Today Boole is best remembered as the originator of Boolean Logic - a fundamental step in the modern computer revolution, and the basis for all contemporary computer software.  Many honours were given to Boole as the genius in his work was recognised. He received honorary degrees from the universities of Dublin and Oxford and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (1857).  His achievements are all the more impressive considering that he was entirely self taught.  Rather than from formal schooling, he acquired a love of mathematics from his father and managed to develop a natural talent into a professional capacity without a university education.

 

Project: Mathematics at Home:  An analysis of the family life of the renowned Cork mathematician, incorporating an online edition of the texts.

 

Nineteenth-century mathematics is now a growth area in Science History Studies.  There are several recent articles on Boole’s mathematics, and there is a partial edition of the manuscripts at the Royal Society in London.  A definitive study of his activity at UCC, utilizing and citing the UCC collection of documents to the full extent, has not been done.  This project will attempt such a study, touching on nineteenth century pedagogical  practice at QCC, while making the documents more widely available in a web edition including references and links to relevant material, featuring the unique elements which the documents contribute, and the connection to Cork and Irish history and culture.

 

The Archive:  The Archive includes 3 boxes of material.  The collection consists mainly of personal letters to and from Boole, the original order having been lost an artificial order was imposed by the Archivist during processing. Very few of Boole’s academic works are preserved here, however drafts of unpublished lectures dealing with such topics as astronomy, ancient mythology, education and one entitled "Are the Planets Inhabited?" are extant.

 

Bibliography:

 

Desmond MacHale. George Boole:  his Life and Work. Dublin 1985

 

on the above, see the reviews by: Calvin Jongsma, Isis , Vol. 77, No. 3 (Sep., 1986), pp. 544-545; and

Jim O'Hara, The British Journal for the History of Science , Vol. 19, No. 3 (Nov., 1986), pp. 360-361

 

I. Grattan-Guinness, Gérard Bornet, eds., George Boole: selected manuscripts on logic and its philosophy. Birkhäuser, 1997

 

K. Houston, Creators of Mathematics:  the Irish Connection. Dublin 2000

 

Itamar Pitowsky, “George Boole's 'Conditions of Possible Experience' and the Quantum Puzzle,”

The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Mar., 1994), pp. 95-125

 

Daniel J. Cohen, Equations from God.  Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith Johns Hopkins 2007