This month's Puzzler
On May 18, 1872, this famous mathematician and philosopher was born into an aristocratic English family (his paternal grandfather had twice served as Queen Victoria’s Prime Minister). His parents had extremely liberal social and religious beliefs for the time, advocating birth control for women, endorsing an early form of “open” marriage, and asking the philosopher John Stuart Mill—a famous atheist—to serve as their son’s secular godfather.
He was only two when his mother died of diphtheria and four when his father died of bronchitis. He and an older brother were raised and educated by his paternal grandmother and a succession of private tutors. Later in life, he described himself as a lonely boy who found great solace in books and reading. He went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he eventually taught as well.
One of the 20th century’s most influential figures, he is now remembered for his pioneering work in mathematical logic, his progressive social views, his battles against superstition and religious tyranny, and his advocacy of pacifism and nuclear disarmament. He also wrote many popular books, including "Why I Am Not a Christian" (1927), "The Conquest of Happiness" (1930), and "A History of Western Philosophy" (1945). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950.
Who was this man? (Answer below)
And then there was this...
We were surprised -- boy, were we ever! -- to learn that "I Met Another Dead Man," co-owner Dan Danbom's stories about Printed Page, was runner-up in the Memoir category of the Southern California Book Awards.
Dan is working on a follow-up book that will be available this summer.
