The death of mathematician George Dantzig is a scientific watershed. Dantzig developed "linear programming" and the simplex method, used to solve complex efficiency problems for large organizations.

Linear Programming: Basics, Simplex Algorithm, and Duality. Applications of Linear Programming: regression, classification and other engineering applications. Integer Linear Programming: Basics, ...

Eventually linear programming came to be used in everything from manufacturing to diet planning. George Bernard Dantzig was born in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 8, 1914.