Graph theory in America : the first hundred years / Robin Wilson, John J. Watkins, David J. Parks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Robin, author.

Watkins, John J., author.

Parks, David J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Graph theory.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 289 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2023]

Biography/History:

Robin Wilson is emeritus professor of mathematics at the Open University. His many books include Four Colors Suffice. John J. Watkins is professor emeritus of mathematics at Colorado College. His books include Topics in Commutative Graph Theory, Number Theory, and Across the Board. David J. Parks received a PhD in mathematics at the Open University. His doctoral thesis forms the basis of this book.

Summary:

How a new mathematical field grew and matured in America Graph Theory in America focuses on the development of graph theory in North America from 1876 to 1976. At the beginning of this period, James Joseph Sylvester, perhaps the finest mathematician in the English-speaking world, took up his appointment as the first professor of mathematics at the Johns Hopkins University, where his inaugural lecture outlined connections between graph theory, algebra, and chemistry--shortly after, he introduced the word graph in our modern sense. A hundred years later, in 1976, graph theory witnessed the solution of the long-standing four color problem by Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken of the University of Illinois.Following graph theory's trajectory across its first century, this book looks at influential figures in the field, both familiar and less known. Whereas many of the featured mathematicians spent their entire careers working on problems in graph theory, a few such as Hassler Whitney started there and then moved to work in other areas. Others, such as C. S. Peirce, Oswald Veblen, and George Birkhoff, made excursions into graph theory while continuing their focus elsewhere. Between the main chapters, the book provides short contextual interludes, describing how the American university system developed and how graph theory was progressing in Europe. Brief summaries of specific publications that influenced the subject's development are also included.Graph Theory in America tells how a remarkable area of mathematics landed on American soil, took root, and flourished.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

PREFACE

FEATURED PAPERS

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

Setting the Scene: Early American Mathematics

Chapter 1 The 1800s

Interlude A Graph Theory in Europe 1

Chapter 2 The 1900s and 1910s

Chapter 3 The 1920s

Interlude B Graph Theory in Europe 2

Chapter 4 The 1930s

Chapter 5 The 1940s and 1950s

Chapter 6 The 1960s and 1970s

Aftermath

GLOSSARY

NOTES, REFERENCES, AND FURTHER READING

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND PICTURE CREDIT

INDEX

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

ISBN:

9780691240657

0691240655

OCLC:

1350689407