Many honours were given to Boole as the genius in his work was recognised. However his career, which was started rather late, came to an unfortunately early end when he died at the age of 49. One day in 1864 he walked from his residence to the College, a distance of two miles, in the drenching rain, and lectured in wet clothes. She put Boole to bed and threw buckets of water over the bed since his illness had been caused by getting wet. That the symbolic processes of algebra, invented as tools of numerical calculation, should be competent to express every act of thought, and to furnish the grammar and dictionary of an all-containing system of logic, would not have been believed until it was proved.
Boolean algebra has wide applications in telephone switching and the design of modern computers.
Boole's work has to be seen as a fundamental step in today's computer revolution. Next Main index History Topics Societies, honours, etc.