MacTutor
Mathematicians Of The Day
2nd January
On this day in 1851, George Boole wrote in a letter to William Thomson
I am now about to set seriously to work upon preparing for the press an account of my theory of Logic and Probabilities which in its present state I look upon as the most valuable if not the only valuable contribution that I have made or am likely to make to Science and the thing by which I would desire if at all to be remembered hereafter ...
Click on Ⓟ for a poster.
Born:
- 1811: Li Shanlan Ⓟ
- 1822: Rudolf Clausius Ⓟ
- 1843: James Stuart Ⓟ
- 1896: Leopold Pars Ⓟ
- 1905: Lev Shnirelman Ⓟ
- 1931: James Murray Ⓟ
- 1938: Anatoly Mykhailovych Samoilenko Ⓟ
- 1940: Srinivasa Varadhan Ⓟ
Died:
- 1889: Stephen Parkinson
- 1892: George Airy Ⓟ
- 1930: Charles Shirra Dougall Ⓟ
- 1952: Panagiotis Zervos Ⓟ
- 1981: Cora Ratto de Sadosky Ⓟ
- 1992: Brian Kuttner Ⓟ
- 1992: Tibor Gallai Ⓟ
Quotation of the day
From George Airy
I had made considerable advance ... in calculations on my favourite numerical lunar theory, when I discovered that, under the heavy pressure of unusual matters (two transits of Venus and some eclipses) I had committed a grievous error in the first stage of giving numerical value to my theory. My spirit in the work was broken, and I have never heartily proceeded with it since.
