| "Linear programming is viewed as a revolutionary | | | | showed his brilliance." At the age of 17 Monge was put |
| development giving man the ability to state general | | | | in charge of teaching a physics course at the College |
| objectives and to find, by means of the simplex | | | | de la Trinite in Lyons, where he completed his |
| method, optimal policy decisions for a broad class of | | | | education in 1764. Monge returned to Beaune that |
| practical decision problems of great complexity. In the | | | | same year, and drew up his famous plan of the city, a |
| real world, planning tends to be ad hoc because of the | | | | drawing which would have a significant influence on his |
| many special-interest groups with their multiple | | | | future mathematical career. A staff officer of the |
| objectives." | | | | Ecole Royale du Genie ( The Royal Engineering |
| George Dantzig was born 8th November 1914, in | | | | School) at Mezieres, saw Monges plan and was |
| Oregon, USA, and is generally regarded as one of the | | | | incredibly impressed with the work. Thus, in 1765, |
| three founders of linear programming, along with John | | | | Monge was appointed to the Ecole Royale du Genie, |
| von Neumann and Leonid Kantorovich. Dantzig | | | | as a draftsmen. Initially Monges role did not involve him |
| received his PhD in mathematics in 1946 from the | | | | using his exceptional mathematical talents, however, |
| University of California, Berkeley. In 1947 while working | | | | Monge continued to work on developing his ideas of |
| with the United States Air force on various projects | | | | geometry in his own time. One year after becoming a |
| dealing with allocation of men and resources, Dantzig | | | | draftsmen, Monge was asked to "draw up a |
| had his most famous breakthrough, the Simplex | | | | fortification plan which prevented an enemy from |
| Method of Optimisation, the basis of modern day | | | | either seeing or firing at a military position no matter |
| Linear Programming. Since the development of the | | | | what the position of the enemy, Monge devised his |
| Simplex algorithm, linear programming has been used | | | | own graphical method to construct such a fortification |
| extensively in solving optimisation problems in virtually | | | | rather than use the complicated methods then |
| every industry ranging from banking to petroleum and | | | | available. This method made full use of the geometrical |
| trucking. Dantzig has also made major contributions in | | | | techniques which Monge was developing in his own |
| mathematical theory, computation and economic | | | | time." Monge was now recognised as a mathematician |
| analysis. | | | | with exceptional abilities, from then on Monge, under |
| "Linear programming is used to allocate resources, plan | | | | the recommendation of Condercet, submitted memoirs |
| production, schedule workers, plan investment | | | | on the calculus of variations, infinitesimal geometry, |
| portfolios and formulate marketing (and military) | | | | combinatory and many papers on the theory of partial |
| strategies. The versatility and economic impact of | | | | differential equations. |
| linear programming in today's industrial world is truly | | | | Leonid Kantorovich was born January 19th, 1912, in |
| awesome." | | | | Saint Petersburg, Russia. Kantorovich was educated |
| John von Neumann was born December 28th 1903 in | | | | at Leningrad State University, where at the age of just |
| Budapest, Austria-Hungary, and he received his PhD in | | | | 18, he received his PhD in mathematics. "This may be |
| mathematics from the University in 1925. Von | | | | considered a historic document, containing the facts |
| Neumann "is generally regarded as one of the | | | | about discovery of the linear programming. The |
| foremost mathematicians of the 20th Century." Von | | | | mathematical formulation of production problems of |
| Neumann was one of the original members of the | | | | optimal planning was presented here for the first time |
| Institute for advanced study also known as the | | | | and the effective methods of their solution and |
| 'demigods', at Princeton University, along with Albert | | | | economic analysis were proposed." |
| Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Kurt Godel and Erwin | | | | In 1938, many years before Dantzig's Simplex |
| Panofsky. Von Neumann was most notably known for | | | | Algorithm was established, Kantorovich, made his |
| his work on game theory, von Neumann algebras, von | | | | earliest major contribution to mathematics and |
| Neumann architecture and cellular automata. | | | | economics. While working as a consultant to the |
| Transportation theory is the name given to the study | | | | Soviet Governments Laboratory of the Plywood Trust, |
| of optimal transportation and allocation of resources. | | | | Kantorovich first realised that the problem of |
| The theory is used extensively in the real world for all | | | | maximising the distribution of raw materials could be |
| types of transportation planning including the flows of | | | | solved in mathematical terms. Kantorovich entered the |
| fluid and power. The theory was formulated in 1781 by | | | | ranks as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th |
| the French Mathematician Gaspard Monge, and was | | | | Century due to his fundamental input into both |
| enhanced during World War II by the Russian | | | | mathematics and economics. His research in functional |
| Mathematician Leonid Kantorovich. | | | | analysis, computational mathematics, optimisation, |
| Gaspard Monge was born May 10th 1746 in the town | | | | descriptive function theory and set theory greatly |
| of Beaune in Burgundy. Despite being born into a family | | | | enhanced the formation of these disciplines and laid |
| of insignificant stature, Monge attended the Oratorian | | | | the basics for new directions in research. Kantorovich |
| College in Beaune, a school intended for young nobles. | | | | won the Nobel prize for economics in 1975 for his |
| "The school offered a more liberal education than | | | | work on the optimal allocation of scarce resources, the |
| other religious schools, providing instruction not only in | | | | only winner of the prestigious award to come from the |
| the humanities but also in history, mathematics, and the | | | | USSR. |
| natural sciences. It was at this school that Monge first | | | | |