Frank Harary

Frank Harary
Frank Harary (left) and Klaus Wagner in Oberwolfach, 1972
Born(1921-03-11)March 11, 1921
DiedJanuary 4, 2005(2005-01-04) (aged 83)
Alma materBrooklyn College
University of California, Berkeley
Known forGoldner–Harary graph
Harary's generalized tic-tac-toe
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
InstitutionsUniversity of Michigan
New Mexico State University
Doctoral advisorAlfred L. Foster

Frank Harary (March 11, 1921 – January 4, 2005) was an American mathematician, who specialized in graph theory. He was widely recognized as one of the "fathers" of modern graph theory.[1] Harary was a master of clear exposition and, together with his many doctoral students, he standardized the terminology of graphs. He broadened the reach of this field to include physics, psychology, sociology, and even anthropology. Gifted with a keen sense of humor, Harary challenged and entertained audiences at all levels of mathematical sophistication. A particular trick he employed was to turn theorems into games—for instance, students would try to add red edges to a graph on six vertices in order to create a red triangle, while another group of students tried to add edges to create a blue triangle (and each edge of the graph had to be either blue or red). Because of the theorem on friends and strangers, one team or the other would have to win.

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