Green's story is the most amazing I've read. George Green was a miller's son, self-taught in mathematics -- operating a mill by day, studying by candlelight at night. From clues in his reading, Green created one of the most powerful concepts in all mathematical physics -- the concept of potential. But William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) discovered and publicized his work. Using the potential concept, Thomson, George Stokes, William Clerk Maxwell, and others founded the field of electromagnetic theory.

The concept of Green's function in partial differential equations has played a powerful role in developing quantum electrodynamics and guides physicists on the frontier of physics today. But no one made Green aware of the importance of his ideas before his untimely death at age of 48. Today, physicists and students use his powerful contributions while neglecting to enquire about the man who endowed them.

You may learn more about him ONLINE: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Mathematicians/Green.html.