István Fáry (30 June 1922 – 2 November 1984) was a Hungarian-born

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

known for his work in

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

and

algebraic topology Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariant (mathematics), invariants that classification theorem, classify topological spaces up t ...

.. He proved

Fáry's theorem In the mathematical field of graph theory, Fáry's theorem states that any simple graph, simple, planar graph can be Graph drawing, drawn without crossings so that its edges are straight line segments. That is, the ability to draw graph edges as ...

that every

planar graph In graph theory, a planar graph is a graph (discrete mathematics), graph that can be graph embedding, embedded in the plane (geometry), plane, i.e., it can be drawn on the plane in such a way that its edges intersect only at their endpoints. ...

has a straight-line embedding in 1948, and the Fáry–Milnor theorem lower-bounding the curvature of a nontrivial

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

in 1949.

Biography

Fáry was born June 30, 1922, in

Gyula, Hungary Gyula (; ; or ) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. The town is best known for its medieval castle and a thermal bath. Ferenc Erkel, the composer of the Hungarian national anthem, and Albrecht Dürer the Elder, the father of Albrecht ...

. After studying for a master's degree at the University of Budapest, he moved to the

University of Szeged The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...

, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1947. He then studied at the Sorbonne before taking a faculty position at the University of Montreal in 1955. He moved to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1958 and became a full professor in 1962. He died on November 2, 1984, in

El Cerrito, California El Cerrito (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Little Hill") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

Selected publications

*. *.

References

External links

Photos from the Oberwolfach Photo Collection
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fary, Istvan 1922 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Hungarian mathematicians University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty Geometers Topologists University of Paris alumni Hungarian expatriates in France Hungarian expatriates in Canada Hungarian expatriates in the United States