Notes for an introductory lecture in the Faculty of Arts and Laws at University College London.
De Morgan Lecture Notes (MS ADD 2)
This material is held atUniversity College London Archives
- Reference
- GB 103 MS ADD 2
- Dates of Creation
- 1862
- Name of Creator
- Language of Material
- English
- Physical Description
- 1 volume
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
Augustus De Morgan was born in Madura in the Madras presidency, the son of a Colonel in the Indian army. Seven months after his birth his parents moved to England. The De Morgan children were brought up with the strict evangelical principles of their parents. Augustus was sent to various schools: he had a gift for drawing caricatures and for algebra. In February 1823 he entered Trinity College Cambridge to develop his already apparent mathematical ability, graduating in 1827. De Morgan had never definitely joined any church, and he refused to carry out his mother's wishes by taking orders. He decided become a barrister and entered Lincoln's Inn, but preferred mathematics over law. In February 1828 De Morgan was unanimously elected the first Professor of Mathematics at the new University College London. De Morgan resigned this post in July 1831 in protest at the dismissal of the Professor of Astronomy. However, in 1836 his successor was drowned and De Morgan offered himself as a temporary substitute. He was then invited to resume the Chair of Mathematics; the regulations concerning dismissal that had promoted his resignation having been altered in the interim. De Morgan accepted the post and remained in it for the next 30 years.
Besides his professorial work, he served for a short period as an actuary and he often gave opinions on questions of insurance. He also occasionally taught private puils. De Morgan resigned his Chair again in November 1866 due to his view that personal religious belief of a candidate should not be taken into account in appointing a candidate for the vacant Chair of Mental Philosophy and Logic.
De Morgan had many children, some of whom died before him. De Morgan himself died on 18 March 1871. In 1828 De Morgan had been elected a fellow of the Astronomical Society and he was also a member of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, contributing a great number of articles to its publications. He also wrote on mathematical, philosophical and antiquarian points. After De Morgan's death, his library, which consisted of about three thousand volumes, was bought by Lord Overstone who presented it to the University of London.
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Acquisition Information
Presented by Mrs William De Morgan.
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