George Szekeres facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Szekeres
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George Szekeres, 2001
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| Born | 29 May 1911 |
| Died | 28 August 2005 (aged 94) Adelaide, Australia
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| Nationality | Hungarian-Australian |
| Alma mater | Technical University of Budapest |
| Known for | Szekeres snark Kruskal–Szekeres coordinates Erdős–Szekeres theorem |
| Spouse(s) | Esther Szekeres |
| Children | Peter · Judy |
| Awards | Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal (1968) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematician |
| Institutions | University of Adelaide University of New South Wales |
| Doctoral students | Alfred van der Poorten |
George Szekeres (born May 29, 1911 – died August 28, 2005) was a brilliant mathematician from Hungary who later became an Australian citizen. He made many important discoveries in mathematics. He also helped young students get excited about math through competitions.
Contents
Early Life and Moving to Australia
George Szekeres was born in Budapest, Hungary. He studied chemistry at the Technical University of Budapest. After finishing his degree, he worked as a chemist for six years in Budapest.
In 1937, George married Esther Klein. Because they were Jewish, George and his family had to leave Hungary to escape danger. They moved to Shanghai, China, where they lived through World War II. They also experienced the Japanese occupation and the start of the Communist revolution there.
In 1948, George was offered a job at the University of Adelaide in Australia. He was very happy to accept this offer. After all the difficult times he had faced, he was finally able to focus on his love for mathematics.
A Career in Mathematics
In 1963, George and his family moved to Sydney, Australia. George started working at the University of New South Wales. He taught mathematics there until he retired in 1975.
George also created challenging math problems for high school students. These problems were used in mathematical olympiads, which are like big math competitions. He also made problems for a yearly competition for university students.
Throughout his life, George Szekeres worked with many other famous mathematicians. These included Paul Erdős, his wife Esther, and Ronald Graham.
Awards and Recognition
George Szekeres received many awards for his important work in mathematics:
- In 1968, he won the Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal. This is a special award from the Australian Academy of Science.
- In May 2001, a special event was held to celebrate his 90th birthday. It took place at the University of New South Wales.
- In January 2001, he received the Australian Centenary Medal. This award recognized his contributions to Australian society and science.
- In 2001, the Australian Mathematical Society created a special award in his honor. It is called the George Szekeres Medal.
- In June 2002, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia. This honor recognized his service to mathematics and science. It also highlighted his help with math competitions for students.
The Happy Ending Problem
Mathematics was a big part of George's life, even in his personal story. In 1933, George and some other students often met in Budapest to talk about math. At one of these meetings, Esther Klein (who would later become his wife) asked a fun problem: If you have five points on a flat surface, and no three points are in a straight line, can you always find four of them that form a convex shape with four sides?
A convex shape means that if you draw a line between any two points inside the shape, the line stays completely inside.
George, Paul Erdős, and the other students thought hard about this problem. Then, Esther showed them her solution. Later, George and Paul wrote a paper about this problem in 1935. This paper helped start a whole new area of math called combinatorial geometry.
Paul Erdős jokingly called the original problem the "Happy Ending" problem. This was because it led to George and Esther getting married in 1937!
George and Esther Szekeres passed away on the same day, August 28, 2005, in Adelaide, South Australia. They died within an hour of each other.
See also
- Powerful number
- Szekeres snark
- Generalized continued fraction
- Kruskal–Szekeres coordinates
- Szekeres–Wilf number
- Schröder's equation
- Erdős–Szekeres theorem
