Esther Szekeres
Encyclopedia
Esther Szekeres (20 February 1910 – 28 August 2005) was a Hungarian-Australian mathematician
. Esther Szekeres's Erdős number
is 1.
she was part of a group that included Paul Erdős
, George Szekeres
and Paul Turán, who met over interesting mathematical problems. In 1933, Esther proposed a combinatorial problem to the group that came to be named by Erdős as the Happy Ending problem
, because it led to her marriage with George Szekeres in 1937.
Following the outbreak of World War II
, Esther and George Szekeres emigrated to Australia
after spending several years in Hongkew (a community of refugees) located in Shanghai, China. In Australia they originally settled in Adelaide
, before moving to Sydney
in the 1960s.
In Sydney, Esther lectured at Macquarie University
and was actively involved in mathematics enrichment for high school students. In 1984, she jointly founded a weekly mathematics enrichment meeting that has since expanded into a program of about 30 groups that continue to meet weekly and inspire high school students throughout Australia
and New Zealand
.
In 2004, she and George moved back to Adelaide, where, on 28 August 2005, she and her husband died within an hour of each other.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. Esther Szekeres's Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
is 1.
Biography
As a young woman in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
she was part of a group that included Paul Erdős
Paul Erdos
Paul Erdős was a Hungarian mathematician. Erdős published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. He worked on problems in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, classical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory...
, George Szekeres
George Szekeres
George Szekeres AM was a Hungarian-Australian mathematician.-Early years:Szekeres was born in Budapest, Hungary as Szekeres György and received his degree in chemistry at the Technical University of Budapest. He worked six years in Budapest as an analytical chemist. He married Esther Klein in 1936...
and Paul Turán, who met over interesting mathematical problems. In 1933, Esther proposed a combinatorial problem to the group that came to be named by Erdős as the Happy Ending problem
Happy Ending problem
The Happy Ending problem is the following statement:This was one of the original results that led to the development of Ramsey theory....
, because it led to her marriage with George Szekeres in 1937.
Following the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Esther and George Szekeres emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
after spending several years in Hongkew (a community of refugees) located in Shanghai, China. In Australia they originally settled in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, before moving to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in the 1960s.
In Sydney, Esther lectured at Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
and was actively involved in mathematics enrichment for high school students. In 1984, she jointly founded a weekly mathematics enrichment meeting that has since expanded into a program of about 30 groups that continue to meet weekly and inspire high school students throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
In 2004, she and George moved back to Adelaide, where, on 28 August 2005, she and her husband died within an hour of each other.