The improbable genius of John Venn

There aren’t many mathematicians who can claim to have bowled out Australia’s number one batsman. But then John Venn, who died 100 years ago today, was no ordinary scholar.

Born in Hull and brought up in Highgate, he was also an Anglican priest – the ninth consecutive one in his family – with a magnificent Victorian beard. He won gardening prizes for his roses and white carrots. He was a keen advocate of women’s rights. And as the founding father of Venn diagrams, still the world’s most beloved tool for representing set-relationships, he can probably boast greater name-recognition than any other modern mathematician. 

Next time you’re in Cambridge, pop into Gonville and Caius College, where Venn was a Fellow and President. In the dining hall, you can admire the handsome stained-glass window of three overlapping circles in blue, orange and purple. It’s a fitting tribute to Dr Venn.

On top of all this, he was a prolific inventor who once built a machine for firing cricket balls at cowering batsmen.