Mary Everest Boole

Mary Everest Boole (1832–1916) was a self-taught mathematician who is best known as an author of didactic works on mathematics, such as Philosophy and Fun of Algebra, and as the wife of fellow mathematician George Boole. Her progressive ideas on education, as expounded in The Preparation of the Child for Science, included encouraging children to explore mathematics through playful activities such as 'curve stitching'. Her life is of interest to feminists as an example of how women made careers in an academic system that did not welcome them.

She was born Mary Everest in England, the daughter of a minister, Thomas Everest. Her uncle George Everest gave his name to Mount Everest. She spent the first part of her life in France where she received an education in mathematics from a private tutor. On returning to England at the age of 11 she continued to pursue her interest in mathematics through self-instruction. George Boole became her tutor in 1852 and on the death of her father in 1855 they married and moved to Cork County, Ireland. Mary greatly contributed as an editor to Boole's The Laws of Thought, a work on algebraic logic. She had five daughters by him. She was widowed in 1864, at the age of 32, and returned to England where she was offered a post as a librarian at Queen's College, London. She also tutored privately in mathematics and developed a philosophy of teaching that involved the use of natural materials and physical activities to encourage an imaginative conception of the subject. Her interest extended beyond mathematics to Darwinian theory, philosophy and psychology and she organised discussion groups on these subjects among others.

She died in 1916 at the age of 84.

Her daughters made their marks in a range of fields. Alicia Boole Stott became an expert in four-dimensional geometry. Ethel Lilian (1864–1960) married the Polish revolutionary Wilfrid Michael Voynich and was the author of a number of works including The Gadfly.

External links

• Boole, M. (1909). Philosophy and Fun of Algebra. C. W. Daniel, London.
• Boole, M. (1904). The Preparation of the Child for Science. Oxford : The Clarendon Press
• "Mary Everest Boole", Biographies of Women Mathematicians, Agnes Scott College
• Boole, M. (1972). A Boolean anthology: Selected writings of Mary Boole—on mathematical education (Compiled by D.G. Tahta). Association of Teachers of Mathematics.
• Biography and picture
• Works by Mary Everest Boole at Project Gutenberg
• Karen Dee Ann Michalowicz (1996) Mary Everest Boole: An Erstwhile Pedagogist for Contemporary Times. Vita Mathematica: Historical Research and Integration with Teaching. Ronald Calinger (ed). Washington, dc, Mathematical Association of America

Persondata
Name	Boole, Mary Everest
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1832
Place of birth
Date of death	1916
Place of death

This article about a United Kingdom mathematician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 1832 births 1916 deaths 19th-century mathematicians 19th-century philosophers British philosophers Women mathematicians Philosophers of mathematics British mathematician stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат Baby I Love You Rugged Island (South Shetland Islands) Look at other dictionaries: BOOLE (G.) — BOOLE GEORGE (1815 1864) Mathématicien et logicien anglais, Boole est le créateur de la logique symbolique. Né à Lincoln et fils d’un petit commerçant, il reçut ses premières leçons de mathématiques de son père, qui lui apprit aussi à fabriquer… …   Encyclopédie Universelle Boole, George — born Nov. 2, 1815, Lincoln, Eng. died Dec. 8, 1864, Ballintemple, Ire. British mathematician. Though basically self taught and lacking a university degree, in 1849 he was appointed professor of mathematics at Queen s College in Ireland. His… …   Universalium Alicia Boole Stott — (geborene Alicia Boole; * 8. Juni 1860 in Cork in Irland; † 17. Dezember 1940 in England) war eine britische Mathematikerin. Alicia Boole wurde als dritte Tochter des Mathematikers George Boole geboren, der aber starb als sie vier Jahre alt war.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Alicia Boole Stott — Alicia Boole Stott, née le 8 juin 1860 à Cork en Irlande et morte le 17 décembre 1940 en Angleterre, est une mathématicienne spécialiste des polytopes. Son père était George Boole. Elle a travaillé avec Pieter Schoute et H.S.M. Coxeter. Sommaire… …   Wikipédia en Français George Everest — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Everest (homonymie). George Everest Sir George Everest (4 juillet 1790 1er décembre 1866 …   Wikipédia en Français Ethel Lilian Boole — Ethel Lilian Voynich Ethel Lilian Voynich, geborene Boole (* 11. Mai 1864 in County Cork, Irland; † 28. Juli 1960 in New York) war eine englische Schriftstellerin, Übersetzerin und Komponistin …   Deutsch Wikipedia George Boole — Nacimiento 2 de noviembre de 1815 Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Inglaterra Fallecimiento …   Wikipedia Español George Boole — Pour les articles homonymes, voir George et Boole. George Boole George Boole Naissance 2  …   Wikipédia en Français George Boole — Infobox Philosopher region = Western Philosophy era = 19th century philosophy color = #B0C4DE image caption = George Boole name = George Boole birth = November 2, 1815 (Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England) death = December 8, 1864 (aged 49)… …   Wikipedia George Everest — Infobox Scientist name = George Everest box width = image width =150px caption = Photograph of Everest birth date = 4 July, 1790 birth place = death date = 1 December, 1866 death place = residence = Crickhowell, Wales citizenship = nationality =… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”