On November 2, 1815, George Boole was born in Lincoln, England. As the inventor of Boolean logic, many consider him a founder of computer science. Boolean logic allows things to be mapped into bits and bytes. It has many applications in electronics, computer hardware and software, and is the basis of all modern digital electronics.
At the time of his death in 1864, Boole’s work remained relatively obscure, except among logicians because it didn’t seem to have many practical uses. But, about 70 years after Boole’s death, a fellow by the name of Claude Shannon attended a philosophy class at the University of Michigan which introduced him to Boole’s studies. He recognized that Boole’s work could form the basis of mechanisms and processes and that it was highly relevant almost 100 years after it was originally published.
In 1937, Shannon wrote a master’s thesis at MIT where he showed how Boolean algebra could optimize the design of systems of electromechanical relays then used in telephone routing switches. He also proved that circuits with relays could solve Boolean algebra problems. Several others have since written about Boolean algebra and they have provided the theoretical grounding for the Digital Age.
Sources: Wikipedia and The Computer History Museum
– Carole Gunst
