Author of didactic works on mathematics
Mary Everest Boole
(11 March 1832 in
Wickwar
, Gloucestershire ? 17 May 1916 in
Middlesex
, England) 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.
[1]
Life
[
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]
She was born in England, the daughter of Reverend Thomas Roupell Everest, Rector of Wickwar, and Mary
nee
Ryall. Her uncle was
George Everest
, the surveyor and geographer after whom
Mount Everest
was named. 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
. Self-taught mathematician
George Boole
tutored her, and she visited him in Ireland where he held the position of professor of mathematics at
Queen's College Cork
. Upon the death of her father in 1855, they married and she moved to Cork. Mary greatly contributed as an editor to Boole's
The Laws of Thought
, a work on
algebraic logic
. She had five daughters with 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
on
Harley Street
, London. In August 1865, her address was listed as 68 Harley Street in a Deed of Assignment in which she disposed of her husband's former house in Ireland, acting as the
Executrix
of his will.
[2]
The deed was witnessed by
"John Knights, Porter at Queens College, Harley Street, London and Jane White, Housekeeper at 68 Harley Street, London"
. As well as working as a librarian, 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. At Queen's College, against the approval of the authorities, she organised discussion groups of students with the unconventional
James Hinton
, a promulgator of polygamy. This in part led to her mental breakdown and the dispersal of her children.
In later life, she belonged to the circle of the
Tolstoyan
pacifist publisher, C. W. Daniel; she chose the name
The Crank
for his magazine because, she said, 'a crank was a little thing that made revolutions'.
Mary took an active interest in politics, introducing her daughter Ethel to the Russian anti-tsarist cause under Sergei Stepniak. After the Boer war 1899–1902 she became more outspoken in her writings against imperialism, organised religion, the financial world and the tokenism she felt that Parliament represented. She opposed women's suffrage and probably for this reason has not generally been regarded as a feminist.
She died in 1916, at the age of 84.
Boole was a practitioner of
homeopathic medicine
.
Contributions to education
[
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]
Mary first became interested in mathematics and teaching through her tutor in France, Monsieur Deplace. He helped her understand mathematics through questioning and journal writing. After marrying George Boole she began contributing to the scientific world by advising her husband in his work while attending his lectures, both of which were unheard of for a woman to do in that time period.
During this time she also shared ideas with
Victoria Welby
, another female scholar and dear friend. They discussed everything from logic and mathematics, to
pedagogy
, theology, and science.
Her teaching first began while working as a librarian. Mary would tutor students with new methods; using natural objects, such as sticks or stones. She theorized that using physical manipulations would strengthen the unconscious understanding of materials learned in a classroom setting.
One of her most notable contributions in the area of physical manipulations is curve stitching with the use of sewing cards, which she discovered as a form of amusement as a child.
This helped to encourage the connections of mathematical concepts to outside sources.
Her book
Philosophy and Fun of Algebra
explained algebra and logic to children in interesting ways, starting with a fable, and including bits of history throughout.
She references not only history, but also philosophy and literature, using a mystical tone to keep the attention of children.
Mary encouraged the use of mathematical imagination with critical thinking and creativity. This, along with reflective journal writing and creating one's own formulas, was essential in strengthening comprehension and understanding.
Cooperative learning
was also important because students could share discoveries with each other in an environment of peer tutoring and develop new ideas and methods.
She worked on promoting her husband's works, with great attention to
mathematical psychology
. George Boole's main focus was on
psychologism
, and Mary provided a more ideological view of his work. She supported the idea that arithmetic was not purely abstract as many believed, but more
anthropomorphic
. Pulsation was also important in her works and could be described as a sequence of mental attitudes, with her attention being analysis and synthesis.
She believed that Indian logic played a role in the development of modern logic by her husband George Boole and others.
Spiritualism
[
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]
Boole was interested in
parapsychology
and the occult, and was a convinced
spiritualist
. She was the first female member of the
Society for Psychical Research
which she joined in 1882. However, being the only female member at the time, she resigned after six months.
Boole was the author of the book
The Message of Psychic Science for Mothers and Nurses
. She revealed the manuscript to
Frederick Denison Maurice
who objected to its controversial ideas and this resulted in her losing her job as librarian at Queens College.
The book was not published until 1883.
It was later republished as
The Message of Psychic Science to the World
(1908).
Family
[
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]
Her five daughters made their marks in a range of fields.
Alicia Boole Stott
(1860?1940) 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
. Mary Ellen married mathematician
Charles Hinton
and Margaret (1858?1935) was the mother of mathematician
G. I. Taylor
.
Lucy Everest
(1862?1905) was a talented chemist and became the first woman
Fellow of the Institute of Chemistry
.
Geoffrey Hinton
is a great-grandson of Boole, and is well known for research in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Publications
[
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]
References
[
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]
Citations
[
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]
- ^
"George Boole 200: George Boole's Family Tree"
.
University College Cork
.
- ^
Registry of Deeds, Dublin. Memorial: 1865-030-121 (extract). Registered: 20 October 1865. Memorial of a certain Deed of Assignment bearing date the Twenty first day of August one thousand eight hundred and sixty five and made between Mary Boole of 68 Harley Street, London, Widow and Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of George Boole late of Litchfield Cottage Blackrock in the County of Cork Esquire L.L.D. deceased of the one part and Francis Heard of Ballintemple in the County of Cork, Esquire, Captain in her Majesty's eighty seventh Regiment of South Cork, Militia of the other part [..] also reciting that the said George Boole [..] having before his death duly made and published his last Will and Testament in writing and thereby bequeathed all his Estate term and interest in said hereinbefore recited Indenture of Lease and premises thereby demised unto the said Mary Boole party of said deed of which this is the Memorial and said Will was afterwards duly proved by the said Mary Boole in the Court of Probate District of Cork... Witnesses as to the execution of said Deed and this Memorial by the said Mary Boole are witnessed by John Knights, Porter at Queens College, Harley Street, London and Jane White, Housekeeper at 68 Harley Street, London.
Sources
[
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]
- Anonymous (1955),
A Tribute to Charles William Daniel
, London: C.W.Daniel
- Batchelor, George
(1994).
The Life and Legacy of G. I. Taylor
. Cambridge University Press. p.
7
.
ISBN
0-521-46121-9
.
- Haynes, Renee
(1982).
The Society for Psychical Research, 1882-1982: A History
. Macdonald.
ISBN
978-0-356-07875-5
.
- Kak, S. (2018). "George Boole's Laws of Thought and Indian logic".
Current Science
.
114
: 2570?2573.
- Kennedy, Gerry (2016),
The Booles and the Hintons
, Atrium Press
- Michalowicz, Karen Dee Ann (1996).
"Mary Everest Boole: An Erstwhile Pedagogist for Contemporary Times"
. In Ronald Calinger (ed.).
Vita Mathematica: Historical Research and Integration with Teaching
. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
ISBN
0-88385-097-4
.
- Nahin, Paul J. (2013).
The Logician and the Engineer: How George Boole and Claude Shannon Created the Information Age
. Princeton University Press.
ISBN
978-0-691-15100-7
.
- Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2007).
Encyclopedia of World Scientists
. Infobase Publishing.
ISBN
978-1-4381-1882-6
.
- Peterson, Ivars (2002).
"Algebra, Philosophy, and Fun"
.
Science News
. Society for Science & The Public. Archived from
the original
on 14 April 2015
. Retrieved
17 September
2013
.
- Petrilli, Susan (2010).
"Three women in semiotics: Welby, Boole, Langer"
.
Semiotica
(182): 327
. Retrieved
17 September
2013
.
- Pinch, Adela (2010).
Thinking about Other People in Nineteenth-Century British Writing
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-76464-3
.
- Rayner-Canham, Marelene F.; Rayner-Canham, Geoffrey (2008).
Chemistry Was Their Life: Pioneering British Women Chemists, 1880-1949
. Imperial College Press.
ISBN
978-1-86094-987-6
.
- Valente, K. G. (2010).
"Giving Wings to Logic: Mary Everest Boole's Propagation and Fulfilment of a Legacy"
.
British Journal for the History of Science
.
43
(1): 49?74.
doi
:
10.1017/s0007087409990380
.
PMID
28974288
.
ProQuest
215741792
.
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