Augustus De Morgan

Born in Madurai, India, on 27 June 1806, he became one of the most important British mathematicians and logicians of the 19th century. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and later became the first professor of mathematics at University College London, where he built a reputation as a gifted teacher and a lively, independent-minded writer.

His name is closely linked with De Morgan’s laws, a cornerstone of logic and set theory, and he is also credited with introducing the phrase mathematical induction. Beyond logic, he wrote widely on mathematics, probability, and the history of science, helping bring difficult ideas to a broader reading public.

He was known not just for technical skill, but for clear thinking and strong principles. His work helped lay foundations for modern symbolic logic, and his books and essays kept his influence alive long after his death in London on 18 March 1871.