Biographies of famous scientists in the field of mathematics and physics

In 1979, Metcalfe left Xerox PARC to launch 3Com, a firm devoted to selling commercial versions of Ethernet and other networking products. When the company went public in 1984, he became a multimillionaire. At 3Com, he continued the relentless pace he'd kept since college, frequently working all night on new projects, and assembling a group of fellow all-night engineers who became known as Metcalfe's Midnight Pizza Team.

InfoWorld

Metcalfe left 3Com in 1990 after he was passed over by the board of directors to become CEO. He spent a year as a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge, and in 1992, joined InfoWorld as publisher, CEO, and weekly columnist. As vice president of technology at InfoWorld's parent company, International Data Group, Metcalfe continued to write his widely read column and also produced two influential technology conferences. He later shifted gears to enter the world of venture capital. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Metcalfe and his wife started their farm in 1993 and raise rare breeds of pigs, chickens, sheep, goats, horses, and cows.

John Venn Biography

Mathematician (c. 1834-c. 1923)

Mathematician John Venn developed George Boole's symbolic logic and is best known for Venn diagrams, which pictorially represent the relations between sets.

Synopsis

Mathematician John Venn was born August 4, 1834 in Hull, England. A fellow of Caius College, Cambridge (1857), he developed George Boole's symbolic logic, and in his Logic of Chance (1866) worked on the frequency theory of probability. He is best known for Venn diagrams, pictorially representing the relations between sets and becoming an oft-used tool in the teaching of mathematics and logic, among other concepts. He died on April 4, 1923 in Cambridge.

Background and Education

John Venn was born on August 4, 1834 in Hull, NE England, UK to Martha Sykes and Henry Venn, a member of the Anglican clergy. The younger Venn received an education from tutors and schools in Highgate and Islington, later earning his degree in 1857 from Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University. Having earned a fellowship there as well, Venn would establish a long-term career at his alma mater, becoming a lecturer in 1862 and appointed college president more than four decades later.

By the end of the 1850s, following his father's religious tradition, Venn was also ordained as a priest for the Church of England. He did religious work for a short time before returning to Caius. Venn eventually resigned from the clergy in the 1880s, nonetheless continuing to remain involved in the church.

Venn Diagrams

In 1886, Venn published The Logic of Chance, a groundbreaking book which espoused the frequency theory of probability, offering that probability should be determined by how often something is forecast to occur as opposed to “educated” assumptions. Venn then further developed George Boole's theories in the 1881 work Symbolic Logic, where he highlighted what would become known as Venn diagrams.

These graphics were pictorial representations of the relationships between sets, with similar diagrams having been used by Gottfried Leibniz and Leonhard Euler. Though quite complex in their orientation and application, Venn diagrams have become a trademark tool over the years in the teaching of introductory math and logic as well as being used by popular media to illustrate relationships between groups and concepts. (For Venn's 180th birthday, Google created a doodle illustrating said diagrams.)

Other Publications

Venn was elected to the Royal Society in 1883 and published other works that included The Principles of Empirical Logic (1889) as well as volumes on the history of Cambridge and a list of its alumni, compiled with the aid of his son J.A. Venn.

John Venn died on April 4, 1923 in Cambridge, England.

Ada Lovelace Biography

Mathematician, Computer Programmer (1815-1852)

A gifted mathematician, Ada Lovelace is considered to have written instructions for the first computer program in the mid-1800s.

Synopsis

The daughter of famed poet Lord Byron, Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace--better known as "Ada Lovelace"--was born in London on December 10, 1815. Ada showed her gift for mathematics at an early age. She translated an article on an invention by Charles Babbage, and added her own comments. Because she introduced many computer concepts, Ada is considered the first computer programmer. Ada died on November 27, 1852.

Early Years

Ada Lovelace, born as Augusta Ada Byron, was the only legitimate child of the famous poet Lord George Gordon Byron. Lord Byron's marriage to Ada's mother, Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron, was not a happy one. Lady Byron separated from her husband only weeks after their daughter was born. A few months later, Lord Byron left England, and Ada never saw her father again. He died in Greece when Ada was 8 years old.

Ada had an unusual upbringing for an aristocratic girl in the mid-1800s. At her mother's insistence, tutors taught her mathematics and science. Such challenging subjects were not standard fare for women at the time, but her mother believed that engaging in rigorous studies would prevent Lovelace from developing her father's moody and unpredictable temperament. Ada was also forced to lie still for extended periods of time because her mother believed it would help her develop self-control.

From early on, Lovelace showed a talent for numbers and language. She received instruction from William Frend, a social reformer; William King, the family's doctor; and Mary Somerville, a Scottish astronomer and mathematician. Somerville was one of the first women to be admitted into the Royal Astronomical Society.

Babbage and the Analytical Engine

Around the age of 17, Ada met Charles Babbage, a mathematician and inventor. The pair became friends, and the much older Babbage served as a mentor to Ada. Through Babbage, Ada began studying advanced mathematics with University of London professor Augustus de Morgan.

Ada was fascinated by Babbage's ideas. Known as the father of the computer, he invented the difference engine, which was meant to perform mathematical calculations. Ada got a chance to look at the machine before it was finished, and was captivated by it. Babbage also created plans for another device known as the analytical engine, designed to handle more complex calculations.

Ada was later asked to translate an article on Babbage's analytical engine that had been written by Italian engineer Luigi Federico Menabrea for a Swiss journal. She not only translated the original French text in English, but also added her own thoughts and ideas on the machine. Her notes ended up being three times longer than the original article. Her work was published in 1843, in an English science journal. Ada used only the initials "A.A.L.," for Augusta Ada Lovelace, in the publication.

In her notes, Ada described how codes could be created for the device to handle letters and symbols along with numbers. She also theorized a method for the engine to repeat a series of instructions, a process known as looping that computer programs use today. Ada also offered up other forward-thinking concepts in the article. For her work, Ada is often considered to be the first computer programmer.

Ada's article attracted little attention when she was alive. In her later years, she tried to develop mathematical schemes for winning at gambling. Unfortunately, her schemes failed and put her in financial peril. Ada died from uterine cancer in London on November 27, 1852. She was buried next to her father, in the graveyard of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Nottingham, England.

Personal Life

In 1835, Ada married William King, who became the Earl of Lovelace three years later. She then took the title of Countess of Lovelace. They shared a love of horses and had three children together. From most accounts, he supported his wife's academic endeavors. Ada and her husband socialized with many of the interesting minds of the times, including scientist Michael Faraday and writer Charles Dickens.

Ada's health suffered, however, after a bout of cholera in 1837. She had lingering problems with asthma and her digestive system. Doctors gave her painkillers, such as laudanum and opium, and her personality began to change. She reportedly experienced mood swings and hallucinations.

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