George Dantzig

George Dantzig (born Nov. 8, 1914, Portland, Ore., U.S.—died May 13, 2005, Stanford, Calif.) was an American mathematician who devised the simplex method, an algorithm for solving problems that involve numerous conditions and variables, and in the process founded the field of linear programming. Dantzig earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Maryland (1936) and a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan (1937) before joining the U.S....