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Morgan, Augustus de

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BornMadura (Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India), 27 June 1806

DiedLondon, England, 18 March 1871

Though not an astronomer, Augustus de Morgan, one of the most notable British mathematicians and logicians of the 19th century, served the Royal Astronomical Society in leadership positions for over 3 decades, including his service on the council, and as secretary and editor of the Monthly Notices. His influence on the organization and its members was substantial and positive.

De Morgan's father John was a lieutenant colonel in the British Army in India. Born with only one eye, de Morgan was raised in England. Though he did poorly at school, at the age of 16 de Morgan entered Cambridge University where he studied under George Peacock, professor of astronomy and geometry, and William Whewell, with both of whom he remained friends. Peacock, along with John Herscheland Charles Babbage, formed the Analytical Society famous for introducing to Cambridge advanced German and French methods of...

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  • Dubbey, John M. (1971). “De Morgan, Augustus.” In Dictionary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. 4, pp. 35–37. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

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Kolak, D. (2007). Morgan, Augustus de. In: Hockey, T., et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_977

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