Prof Desmond MacHale and Olivia Frawley
The Unitarian Church in Princes Street is the place to be on Cork Culture Night ( September 16th, 7pm & 8 pm) where there will be two talks on "The Legacy of George Boole".
Photo of The Unitarian Church, Princes St., Cork
George Boole’s biographer, Emeritus Professor Des MacHale, will talk at 7pm. He will discuss the continuing interest in George Boole with surprising information that has since come to hand. He will also outline the way in which Claude Shannon (1916- 2001) utilised Boole’s work in the 1930's in the initial experimental development of the computer. April 30th of this year marked the centenary of Shannon’s birth.
Des will be followed at 8pm by Olivia Frawley, George Boole Digital Project Manager, who will tell interesting stories about Boole’s intriguing family. Music and a short film will also form part of this presentation.
This year also marks the centenary of the death of George’s wife, Mary Everest Boole (1832 -1916), who was a remarkable woman in her own right and was the niece of the first surveyor of Mount Everest. Their amazing family history included work on the Manhattan Project and involvement in revolutionary China.
Born in Lincoln, England, Boole was a largely self-taught mathematical genius. His appointment as the first Professor of Mathematics at Queen's College, Cork (now known as University College Cork) in 1849 provided him with the opportunity to write his seminal work:"An Investigation of the Laws of Thought", in Cork city.
Professor George Boole (1815 – 1864) was a wonderfully complex man: a self-taught linguist, poet, devoted teacher, academic, social reformer, humanitarian, religious thinker, and a good family man.
Come and rediscover the legacy of this family of great independent thinkers, and the man whose work in Cork laid the foundations of the Information Age.
A warm welcome awaits you!
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