In 1815, George Boole was born in Lincoln, England. He attended elementary school and a commercial school for a few years. His love of mathematics was given to him by his father, a poor shoemaker. At eight George exceeded his father's knowledge. Boole's interests turned to languages. George took Latin lessons from a local bookseller, whose knowledge was soon surpassed. Within a few years, he moved on to achieve fluency in German, Italian, and French through self-study. Poverty made getting an academic degree impossible for George. Instead, at 16, he became an assistant teacher. Four years later he opened a school and returned to his mathematical studies. He was 20 years old.

In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of mathematics, Boole pored over mathematical journals borrowed from the local Mechanic's Institute and examined Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica. Boole's first scientific publication was a speech given on...