Mathematicians Of The Day

10th January



On this day in 1844, George Boole submitted a paper to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. One referee rejected it, the other recommended a special prize. This paper was the first mathematics paper to receive the Royal Medal from the Royal Society.

Click on for a poster.


Quotation of the day

From Adrien-Marie Legendre
It is a matter for considerable regret that Fermat, who cultivated the theory of numbers with so much success, did not leave us with the proofs of the theorems he discovered. In truth, Messrs Euler and Lagrange, who have not disdained this kind of research, have proved most of these theorems, and have even substituted extensive theories for the isolated propositions of Fermat. But there are several proofs which have resisted their efforts.
Recherches d'Analyse Indéterminée, Hist Acad Roy des Sciences (1785/1788) 513.