John Venn Explained

John Venn
Birth Date:4 August 1834
Alma Mater:Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Workplaces:Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Birth Place:Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England
Death Place:Cambridge, England
Awards:Fellow of the Royal Society (1883)
Signature:John Venn signature.png

John Venn, FRS, FSA (4 August 1834 – 4 April 1923) was an English mathematician, logician and philosopher noted for introducing Venn diagrams, which are used in logic, set theory, probability, statistics, and computer science. In 1866, Venn published The Logic of Chance, a groundbreaking book which espoused the frequency theory of probability, arguing 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.

Early life

John Venn was born on 4 August 1834 in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, to Martha Sykes and Rev. Henry Venn, who was the rector of the parish of Drypool. His mother died when he was three years old. Venn was descended from a long line of church evangelicals, including his grandfather John Venn. Venn was brought up in a very strict atmosphere at home. His father Henry had played a significant part in the Evangelical movement and he was also the secretary of the Society for Missions to Africa and the East, establishing eight bishoprics overseas. His grandfather was pastor to William Wilberforce of the abolitionist movement, in Clapham.

He began his education in London joining Sir Roger Cholmeley's School,[1] now known as Highgate School, with his brother Henry in September 1846. He moved on to Islington Proprietary School.

University life and career

In October 1853, he went to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He found the Mathematical Tripos unsuited to his mathematical style, complaining that the handful of private tutors he worked with "always had the Tripos prominently in view". In contrast, Venn wished to investigate interesting ideas beyond the syllabus. Nonetheless, he was Sixth Wrangler upon sitting the exams in January 1857.

Venn experienced, in his words, a "reaction and disgust" to the Tripos which led him to sell his books on mathematics and state that he would never return to the subject. Following his family vocation, he was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1859, serving first at the church in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and later in Mortlake, Surrey.

In 1862, he returned to Cambridge as a lecturer in moral science, studying and teaching political economy, philosophy, probability theory and logic. He reacquainted himself with logic and became a leading scholar in the field through his textbooks The Logic of Chance (1866), Symbolic Logic (1881) and The Principles of Empirical or Inductive Logic (1889). His academic writing was influenced by his teaching: he saw Venn diagrams, which he called "Eulerian Circles" and introduced in 1880, as a pedagogical tool. Venn was known for teaching students across multiple Cambridge colleges, which was rare at the time.[2]

In 1883, he resigned from the clergy, having concluded that Anglicanism was incompatible with his philosophical beliefs.

In 1903 he was elected President of the college, a post he held until his death.

With his son, Venn developed a bowling machine that was able to impart spin to a cricket ball. When members of the Australian cricket team visited Cambridge in June 1909, Venn’s machine bowled Victor Trumper, one of their star batsmen. The machine was recreated in 2024 by the university engineering department.[3] [4]

In 1883, Venn was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society,[5] and in 1884, he was awarded a Sc.D. by Cambridge.[6]

He died on 4 April 1923.

Civic and personal life

In 1868, Venn married Susanna Carnegie Edmonstone with whom he had one son, John Archibald Venn. His son entered the mathematics field as well and became Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University.[7]

Venn was an active member of civic society in Cambridge. He was a committee member of the Cambridge Charitable Organisations Society, elected vice-chairman in December 1884.[8] Venn was president of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society in 1908–1909.[9] He is also listed as a vice president of the Cambridge Provident Medical Institution.[10]

Venn was a supporter of votes for women. He co-signed with his wife Susanna, a letter to the Cambridge Independent Press, published 16 October 1908, encouraging women to put themselves forward as candidates for the Cambridge Town Council elections.[11] The letter was co-sponsored by Maud Darwin and Florence Ada Keynes.

Venn was also a gardener, regularly taking part in local competitions organised by groups such as the Cambridgeshire Horticultural Society, winning prizes for his roses in July 1885[12] and for his white carrots later that September.[13]

Memorials

Publications

Venn compiled Alumni Cantabrigienses, a biographical register of former members of the University of Cambridge. It was edited by Venn and his son John Archibald Venn and published by Cambridge University Press in ten volumes between 1922 and 1953.

His other works include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Highgate School Roll 1833–1912, Unwin Brothers Ltd 1913
  2. The Venn Behind the Diagram. Verburgt. Lukas M.. 59. 2. April 2023. 53–55. Mathematics Today. Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
  3. News: Cambridge University engineers recreate historic bowling machine . 10 June 2024 . Daily Telegraph . 10 June 2024.
  4. News: Gordon-Farleigh . Neve . Engineers recreate 1900s cricket bowling machine . 11 June 2024 . BBC News . 10 June 2024.
  5. Web site: Portrait of John Venn . Royal Society Picture Library . Royal Society . 2 August 2018.
  6. 10.1534/genetics.109.107847 . 19797062 . 2746166 . Statistical Methods for Evolutionary Trees . Genetics . 183 . 1 . 5–12 . 2009 . Edwards . A. W. F..
  7. 40972 . Venn, John Archibald . John D. . Pickles.
  8. News: Cambridge Independent Press . Cambridge Independent Press . 13 April 2017 . 6 December 1884.
  9. News: Cambridge Independent Press . 13 April 2017 . Cambridge Independent Press . 29 October 1909.
  10. News: Cambridge Independent Press . Cambridge Independent Press . 13 April 2017 . 13 February 1886.
  11. News: Cambridge Independent Press . Cambridge Independent Press . 13 April 2017 . 16 October 1908.
  12. News: Cambridge Independent Press . Cambridge Independent Press . 13 April 2017 . 11 July 1885.
  13. News: Cambridge Independent Press . Cambridge Independent Press . 13 April 2017 . 19 September 1885.
  14. News: Young . Angus . 5 June 2017 . John Venn inspired £325k makeover of Hull's Drypool Bridge is now complete . Hull Daily Mail . 12 November 2017.
  15. Web site: John Venn . Carnegie Heritage Centre . 2 August 2018.
  16. Web site: 11 August 2023 . 4 August: Remembering John Venn on Birthday . 11 August 2023 . Observer Voice .
  17. Web site: Rev and Dr Venn . London Remembers . 2 August 2018.