Augustus De Morgan
Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871) was a British mathematician and logician best known for formulating De Morgan's laws. De Morgan is also known for coining the term "mathematical induction" and for formalizing the underlying principles of induction.[1] De Morgan's contributions to logic have been used in set theory, probability theory, computer science, and other fields.
Augustus De Morgan
27 June 1806
18 March 1871 (aged 64)
Edward Routh
James Joseph Sylvester
Frederick Guthrie
William Stanley Jevons
Jacob Waley
Ada Lovelace
Walter Bagehot
Richard Holt Hutton
Francis Guthrie
Stephen Joseph Perry
Numa Edward Hartog
Isaac Todhunter
Henry Roscoe
Arthur Cohen
Thomas Hodgkin
Robert Bellamy Clifton
Charles James Hargreave
George Jessel
Sedley Taylor
Biography[edit]
Childhood[edit]
Augustus De Morgan was born in Madurai, in the Carnatic region of India, in 1806.[2][a] His father was Lieutenant-Colonel John De Morgan (1772–1816), who held various appointments in the service of the East India Company, and his mother, Elizabeth (née Dodson, 1776–1856), was the daughter of John Dodson and granddaughter of James Dodson, who computed a table of anti-logarithms (inverse logarithms).[3] Augustus De Morgan became blind in one eye within a few months of his birth. His family moved to England when Augustus was seven months old. As his father and grandfather had both been born in India, De Morgan used to say that he was neither English nor Scottish nor Irish, but a Briton "unattached," using the technical term applied to an undergraduate of Oxford or Cambridge who was not a member of any one of the colleges.
When De Morgan was ten years old, his father died.[2] His mathematical talents went unnoticed until he was fourteen, when a family friend discovered him making an elaborate drawing of a figure from one of Euclid's works with a ruler and compasses.[2] He received his secondary education from Mr. Parsons, a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, who preferred classics to mathematics.
Education[edit]
In 1823, at the age of sixteen, De Morgan enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge.[4] There he met George Peacock and William Whewell, who allegedly became his lifelong friend. From Peacock, he derived an interest in the renovation of algebra, and from Whewell, an interest in the renovation of logic—the two subjects of his future life work. His college tutor was John Philips Higman.
At college, he played the flute recreationally and was prominent in musical clubs.
He placed fourth in the Mathematical Tripos, which entitled him to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. To take the higher degree of Master of Arts and thereby become eligible for a fellowship, he needed to pass a theological test. De Morgan felt a strong objection to signing any such test, although he had been brought up in the Church of England. Around 1875, the requirement of theological tests for academic degrees was abolished by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1859.
Unable to progress in academia, De Morgan entered Lincoln's Inn to pursue law.[5]
Legacy[edit]
The headquarters of the London Mathematical Society are called De Morgan House, and the top prize awarded by the Society is the De Morgan Medal.
The student society of the Mathematics Department of University College London is called the Augustus De Morgan Society.
De Morgan's extensive library of mathematical and scientific works, many historical, was acquired by Samuel Jones-Loyd for the University of London and is now part of the Senate House Libraries collection.[61]
The lunar crater De Morgan is named after him.
