George Bernard Dantzig (8 November 1914 – 13 May 2005) was an American mathematician who introduced the simplex algorithm and independently discovered linear programming some years after it was initially invented by Soviet economist and mathematician Leonid Kantorovich. He was the recipient of many honors, including the National Medal of Science in 1975, and the John von Neumann Theory Prize in 1974. is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leonhard Euler, considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics. ... In mathematical optimization theory, the simplex algorithm, created by the American mathematician George Dantzig in 1947, is a popular technique for numerical solution of the linear programming problem. ... In mathematics, linear programming (LP) problems involve the optimization of a linear objective function, subject to linear equality and inequality constraints. ... Leonid V. Kantorovich. ... National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor given by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics. ... For other persons named John Neumann, see John Neumann (disambiguation). ...

He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... Founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the United States provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. ... The House of the Academy, Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

He earned bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of Maryland in 1936, his master's degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1946. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1976. A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts three or four years. ... The University of Maryland, College Park (also known as UM, UMD, or UMCP) is a public university located in the city of College Park, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., in the United States. ... A masters degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded after the completion of an academic program of one to six years in duration. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a prestigious, public, coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate and its bridge. ... An Honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum) is a degree awarded to someone by an institution that he or she may have never attended, it may be a bachelors, masters or doctorate degree - however, the latter is most common. ...

Truth in urban legends

An event in Dantzig's life became the origin of a famous urban legend in 1939 while he was a graduate student at UC Berkeley. Near the beginning of a class for which Dantzig was late, professor Jerzy Neyman wrote two examples of famously unsolved statistics problems on the blackboard. When Dantzig arrived, he assumed that the two problems were a homework assignment and wrote them down. According to Dantzig, the problems "seemed to be a little harder than usual", but a few days later he handed in completed solutions for two, still believing that they were an assignment that was overdue. Six weeks later, Dantzig received a visit from an excited professor Neyman, who had prepared one of Dantzig's solutions for publication in a mathematical journal. Years later another researcher, Abraham Wald, was preparing to publish a paper which arrived at a conclusion for the second problem, and included Dantzig as its co-author when he learned of the earlier solution. For other uses, see Urban legend (disambiguation). ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a prestigious, public, coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate and its bridge. ... Jerzy Neyman (April 16, 1894, in Bendery, Moldova – August 5, 1981, in Oakland, California) was a Polish mathematician. ... This article is about the field of statistics. ... Abraham Wald (October 31, 1902 Kolozsvár, Hungary (now Cluj, Romania) - December 13, 1950 India) was a mathematician who contributed to decision theory, geometry, and econometrics, and founded the field of statistical sequential analysis. ...

This story began to spread, and was used as a motivational lesson demonstrating the power of positive thinking. Over time Dantzig's name was removed and facts were altered, but the basic story persisted in the form of an urban legend, and as an introductory scene in the movie Good Will Hunting. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Other

The Mathematical Programming Society honored Dantzig by creating the Dantzig Award, bestowed every three years since 1982 on one or two people who have made a significant impact in the field of mathematical programming. The Mathematical Programming Society (MPS) is the most important international scientific community in the field of optimization, aiming at the development of new mathematical theory and optimization algorithms as well as their application in practical planning problems. ...

Dantzig died on May 13, 2005, in his home in Stanford, California, of complications from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He was 90 years old. is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Cardiovascular disease refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels (arteries and veins). ...

His father, Tobias Dantzig, was a Russian mathematician who had studied with Henri Poincaré in Paris. Tobias married a fellow Sorbonne University student, Anja Ourisson, and the couple immigrated to the United States. Tobias Dantzig was the father or George Dantzig, and the author of NUMBER: The Language of Science. ... Jules Henri Poincaré (April 29, 1854 – July 17, 1912) (IPA: [1]) was one of Frances greatest mathematicians and theoretical physicists, and a philosopher of science. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... ...

References

• G. B. Dantzig 1940. On the non-existence of tests of "Student's" hypothesis having power functions independent of σ, Annals of Mathematical Statistics, Volume 11, number 2, pp186-192

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

George Dantzig

• O'Connor, John J. & Robertson, Edmund F., “George Dantzig”, MacTutor History of Mathematics archive 
• Snopes urban legend reference on the legend to which Dantzig gave rise
• Stanford Celebrates Dantzig's 80th birthday
• Obituaries of George Dantzig
• Comprehensive biography of George Dantzig in the AMS Notices
• INFORMS George Dantzig Memorial Website
• George Dantzig at the Mathematics Genealogy Project