Augustus De Morgan entered the English mathematical scene during a period of inactivity and by the time of his death it had regained the stature it had since the time of Isaac Newton. Although De Morgan did not devote himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of mathematics, he is credited for promoting its study by his publications and his teaching. He worked outside the established universities and was able to appeal to a wider audience than merely the mathematics graduates of Oxford and Cambridge.

De Morgan was born in June 1806 in Madurai, a picturesque town in southern India. Shortly after his birth he lost the sight of his right eye. The De Morgans moved back to England when he was seven months old. His father, a colonel in the Indian army, continued to spend time in India and died on St. Helena in 1816. De Morgan was educated at a...