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Steven Vajda (20 August 1901 – 10 December 1995) was a Hungarian-British mathematician who contributed to the development of mathematical programming and operational research.^[1]^[2] He was a member of a circle of researchers that included George Dantzig, Abraham Charnes, W.W. Cooper, William Orchard-Hays, Martin Beale and others. He worked and taught as an actuary and as a mathematician in operational research from 1925 to 1995.

From 1939 until his death in 1995, he lived in the U.K. where he was a defence scientist with the Royal Naval Scientific Service, and a professor at Birmingham and Sussex Universities. He was a Companion of the Operational Research Society, a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and a member of the Mathematical Association.

He is the author or coauthor of at least a dozen books on mathematical programming, game theory, manpower planning and statistics and of many journal publications and conference papers.

Early life

Steven (originally István) Vajda was born in Budapest in 1901, to Josef and Aurelia Wollak.^[3] His family moved to Vienna in 1903, and it was in this city that Steven was raised and educated. He read mathematics and received a Dr. Phil. Degree in 1925 from the University of Vienna.^[3] One of his first appointments was in Romania where he was an actuarial advisor to the Romanian government. He eventually returned to Vienna to continue his work as an actuary and was married there in 1929.

In 1939, Steven, wife Eva and their two children, Hedy and Robert, fled the Nazi regime that had taken over Austria in the 1938 Anschluss. The children were sent to Sweden and Eva was admitted to the UK as a domestic servant. Steven’s friend Karl Popper had already left Austria and, as a New Zealand resident and lecturer in philosophy at Canterbury University College, he found Steven a job and helped him to obtain the necessary travel documents. Steven was then able to enter England because he was merely in transit. The plan was to reunite the family in England and then leave for New Zealand, but before that could happen, the Second World War started and the Vajdas were briefly interned as "enemy aliens". They were housed in a camp on the Isle of Man with other refugees from across Europe. The internees organized a school for their children and, of course, Steven taught mathematics. Most of the internees were released after several months and Steven found employment as an actuary.

Career in the United Kingdom

Meanwhile, mathematicians were in demand to staff the newly formed military operational research groups. H. Seal who was with the Admiralty O.R. group, had read Steven’s research publications in the Bulletin des actuaires suisses, and when he found that Steven was in England he sought him out and proposed that he join the war effort. After much bureaucratic manoeuvring, Steven joined the Royal Naval Scientific Service of the British Admiralty. When the war ended, Seal saw to it that Steven was one of the first "aliens" to be given British citizenship. Steven stayed with the Admiralty until 1964, holding such appointments as Assistant Director of Operational Research and Head of the Mathematical Group. In 1964, he "retired" for the first time.

In 1964, Steven became Professor of Operational Research at the University of Birmingham. Upon his second "retirement" in 1967 he continued at Birmingham in a research appointment in mathematical statistics, working with Henry Daniels, David Wishart and Vic Barnett.^[4] He stayed until 1973, when, at the behest of Professor Pat Rivett, he once again "retired" in order to become Visiting Professor of Mathematics at Sussex University. He remained an active member of the Sussex staff until he died in 1995 in Brighton, two years after the birth of his first great grandchild Alexandra Eva (named after his wife).

Works

Theory of Games and Linear Programming (1956)
Readings in Linear Programming (1958)
Introduction to Linear Programming and the Theory of Games (1960)
Mathematical Programming (1961)
Mathematics of Experimental Design (1970)
Probabilistic Programming (1972)
Theory of Linear and Nonlinear Programming (1974)
Mathematics of Manpower Planning (1978)
Handbook of Applicable Mathematics: Supplement (1990), co-authored with Walter Ledermann, Emlyn Lloyd and Carol Alexander
Mathematical Games and How to Play Them (1992)
A Mathematical Kaleidoscope: Applications in Industry, Business and Science (1995), co-authored with by Brian Conolly
Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers, and the Golden Section: Theory and Applications (2008)

References

^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Steven Vajda", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
^ "obituaries : Stefan Vajda". The Independent. 1 January 1996. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Krarup, Jakob (2011). "Steven Vajda". Profiles in Operations Research. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science. Vol. 147. pp. 31–43. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-6281-2_2. ISBN 978-1-4419-6280-5.
^ Whittle, Peter (4 May 2000). "Henry Daniels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

Additional sources

Bather, John; Obituaries : Stefan Vajda; The Independent, (London), 1 January 1996
Haley K.B. and Williams H.P; The work of Professor Steven Vajda 1901–1995; Journal of the Operational Research Society, Volume 49, Number 3, 1 March 1998, p. 298-301; *Shutler, M.; Editorial: The life of Steven Vajda; IMA; J Management Math.1997; 8: 193-194; [1]^{[dead link]}
Author’s biography appearing in Mathematical Programming (by Steven Vajda), Addison-Wesley, 1961
Biography of Steven Vajda from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

[1] O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Steven Vajda", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews

[2] "obituaries : Stefan Vajda". The Independent. 1 January 1996. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

[Krarup-3] Krarup, Jakob (2011). "Steven Vajda". Profiles in Operations Research. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science. Vol. 147. pp. 31–43. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-6281-2_2. ISBN 978-1-4419-6280-5.

[4] Whittle, Peter (4 May 2000). "Henry Daniels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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+{{Short description|Hungarian-British mathematician}}
-{{multiple issues|original research =September 2008|refimprove =September 2008}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
+{{more footnotes needed|date =December 2015}}
-'''Steven Vajda'''  (August 20, 1901 - December 10, 1995) played an important role in the development of [[mathematical programming]] and [[operational research]] for more than fifty years.  He was a member of a select circle of innovative researchers that included [[George Dantzig]], Abraham Charnes,<ref>[http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1475-3995.2006.00548.x?cookieSet=1 Blackwell Synergy]</ref> W.W. Cooper, William Orchard-Hays, [[Martin Beale]] and others.  He worked and taught as an actuary and as a mathematician in operational research from 1925 to 1995.
+'''Steven Vajda'''  (20 August 1901 – 10 December 1995) was a Hungarian-British mathematician who contributed to the development of [[mathematical programming]] and [[operational research]].<ref>{{MacTutor Biography|id=Vajda}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1996-01-01 |title=obituaries : Stefan Vajda |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-stefan-vajda-1321977.html |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>  He was a member of a circle of researchers that included [[George Dantzig]], [[Abraham Charnes]], [[William W. Cooper|W.W. Cooper]], [[William Orchard-Hays]], [[Martin Beale]] and others.  He worked and taught as an actuary and as a mathematician in operational research from 1925 to 1995.
-From 1939 until his death in 1995, he lived in the U.K. where he was a defence scientist with the Royal Naval Scientific Service, and a Professor at [[Birmingham University|Birmingham]] and [[Sussex University|Sussex]] Universities. He was a Companion of the [[Operational Research Society]],<ref>[http://www.orsoc.org.uk/orshop/(bvyojajuqz21sb55235gqwiq)/orhomepage2.aspx Orsoc]</ref> a Fellow of the [[Royal Statistical Society]],<ref>[http://www.rss.org.uk/main.asp?page=0 RSS]</ref> a Fellow of the [http://www.imstat.org/ Institute of Mathematical Statistics] and a member of the [[Mathematical Association]].<ref>[http://www.m-a.org.uk/ The Mathematical Association]</ref>
+From 1939 until his death in 1995, he lived in the U.K. where he was a defence scientist with the Royal Naval Scientific Service, and a professor at [[Birmingham University|Birmingham]] and [[Sussex University|Sussex]] Universities. He was a Companion of the [[Operational Research Society]], a Fellow of the [[Royal Statistical Society]], a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and a member of the [[Mathematical Association]].
-He is the author or coauthor of at least a dozen books on [[mathematical programming]], [[game theory]], manpower planning and [[statistics]] and of  many journal publications and conference papers. He was fluent in a number of languages, including English, German, Hungarian, and French and had a good grasp of several others.  He taught and mentored generations of students in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom.
+He is the author or coauthor of at least a dozen books on [[mathematical programming]], [[game theory]], manpower planning and [[statistics]] and of many journal publications and conference papers.
 ==Early life==
-Steven Vajda was born in [[Budapest]] in 1901, an [[Austro-Hungarian]] of the empire of [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]].  His family  moved to [[Vienna]] in 1903, and it was in this city that Steven was raised and educated.  Although he was a diligent and successful student, he did not expect to attend university because  his family was of modest means.  However, a period of massive inflation followed the end of the [[First World War]], and the university fee schedule was not adjusted as the Austrian currency lost value.  In this way, by the time Steven had finished school, the cost of a higher education had dropped and he was able to continue his studies.  He read mathematics and received a Dr. Phil. Degree in 1925.  One of his first appointments was in Romania where he was an actuarial advisor to the Romanian government.  He eventually returned to Vienna to continue his work as an actuary and was married there in 1929.
+Steven (originally István) Vajda was born in [[Budapest]] in 1901, to Josef and Aurelia Wollak.<ref name="Krarup">{{Cite book | last1 = Krarup | first1 = Jakob | chapter = Steven Vajda | doi = 10.1007/978-1-4419-6281-2_2 | title = Profiles in Operations Research | series = International Series in Operations Research & Management Science | volume = 147 | pages = 31–43 | year = 2011 | isbn = 978-1-4419-6280-5 }}</ref> His family moved to [[Vienna]] in 1903, and it was in this city that Steven was raised and educated.  He read mathematics and received a Dr. Phil. Degree in 1925 from the [[University of Vienna]].<ref name="Krarup" />  One of his first appointments was in Romania where he was an actuarial advisor to the Romanian government.  He eventually returned to Vienna to continue his work as an actuary and was married there in 1929.
-In the early 20th century, Vienna was a hive of intellectual activity.  It was the city of [[Sigmund Freud]], [[Alfred Adler]], [[Karl Popper]], [[Gábor Szegő]], [[Kurt Gödel]], [[Oskar Morgenstern]] and so many others. It was a progressive society known as ''Rotes Wien'' ([[Red Vienna]]) between 1918 and 1934, when the [[social democrat]]s introduced such measures as the eight hour day, subsidized workers’ housing  and reform of the education system.  However, the 1930s also saw the rise of [[fascism]] in Germany and Italy, and Austria was not exempt from this movement.  In 1934 there was a brief civil war when the chancellor, [[Dollfuss]], had the army shell parts of Vienna that were in the hands of a socialist militia.  In 1938, Austria was occupied (the [[Anschluss]]) and incorporated into Hitler’s German state. In 1939,  Steven, wife Eva and their two children, Hedy and Robert, fled Austria.  The children were sent to Sweden and Eva was admitted to the UK as a domestic servant, but Steven had to find another way to obtain an entry visa.  Steven’s friend [[Karl Popper]] had already left Austria and, as a [[New Zealand]] resident and lecturer in philosophy at [[Canterbury University College]], he found Steven a job and helped him to obtain the necessary travel documents.  Steven was then able to enter England because he was merely in transit.  The plan was to reunite the family in England and then leave for New Zealand, but before that could happen, the [[Second World War]] started and the Vajdas were briefly interned [http://www.gov.im/mnh/heritage/library/bibliographies/internment.xml] as “enemy aliens”.  They were housed in a camp on the [[Isle of Man]] with other refugees from across Europe.  The internees organized a school for their children and, of course, Steven taught mathematics. Most of the internees were released after several months and Steven found employment as an actuary.
+In 1939, Steven, wife Eva and their two children, Hedy and Robert, fled the Nazi regime that had taken over Austria in the 1938 [[Anschluss]].  The children were sent to Sweden and Eva was admitted to the UK as a domestic servant.  Steven’s friend [[Karl Popper]] had already left Austria and, as a [[New Zealand]] resident and lecturer in philosophy at [[Canterbury University College]], he found Steven a job and helped him to obtain the necessary travel documents.  Steven was then able to enter England because he was merely in transit.  The plan was to reunite the family in England and then leave for New Zealand, but before that could happen, the [[Second World War]] started and the Vajdas were briefly interned as "enemy aliens".  They were housed in a camp on the [[Isle of Man]] with other refugees from across Europe.  The internees organized a school for their children and, of course, Steven taught mathematics. Most of the internees were released after several months and Steven found employment as an actuary.
 ==Career in the United Kingdom==
-Meanwhile, mathematicians were in demand to staff the newly formed military  operational research groups.  H. Seal who was with the Admiralty O.R. group, had read  Steven’s research publications in the ''Bulletin des actuaires suisses'', and when he found that Steven was in England he sought him out and proposed that he join the war effort.  This was not an easy hire, because Steven was still classed as an enemy alien, but Seal would not be denied and after much bureaucratic manoeuvring, Steven joined the Royal Naval Scientific Service of the British Admiralty.  When the war ended, Seal saw to it that Steven was one of the first “aliens” to be given British citizenship.  Steven stayed with the Admiralty until 1964, holding such appointments as Assistant Director of Operational Research and Head of the Mathematical Group.  In 1964, he “retired” for the first time.
+Meanwhile, mathematicians were in demand to staff the newly formed military  operational research groups.  H. Seal who was with the Admiralty O.R. group, had read Steven’s research publications in the ''Bulletin des actuaires suisses'', and when he found that Steven was in England he sought him out and proposed that he join the war effort.  After much bureaucratic manoeuvring, Steven joined the Royal Naval Scientific Service of the British Admiralty.  When the war ended, Seal saw to it that Steven was one of the first "aliens" to be given British citizenship.  Steven stayed with the Admiralty until 1964, holding such appointments as Assistant Director of Operational Research and Head of the Mathematical Group.  In 1964, he "retired" for the first time.
-In 1964, Steven became Professor of Operational Research at the [[University of Birmingham]], where, along with K.B. Haley and others,  he contributed his great strengths to the development of programs of study and research. He frequently invited well known colleagues such as [[Martin Beale]] and [[Frank Harary]] to speak to the staff and graduate students. He participated in various [[NATO]]-sponsored scientific summer schools as both a lecturer and an advisor.  Upon his second  “retirement” in 1967 he continued at Birmingham in a research appointment in mathematical statistics, working with [[Henry Daniels]][http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,216976,00.html The Guardian], David Wishart and Vic Barnett.  He stayed until  1973, when, at the behest of  Professor Pat Rivett [http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/files/6556.pdf],  he once again “retired” in  order to become Visiting Professor of Mathematics at [[Sussex University]].  With colleagues such as H. Paul Williams, he lectured, supervised research and tutored students, wrote and attended seminars and conferences.  He was sought after not only as a speaker at mathematics conferences but also as a simultaneous translator, because of his linguistic abilities and his understanding of the subject matter. He remained an active member of the Sussex staff until he died in 1995 in [[Brighton]].
+In 1964, Steven became Professor of Operational Research at the [[University of Birmingham]].  Upon his second "retirement" in 1967 he continued at Birmingham in a research appointment in mathematical statistics, working with [[Henry Daniels (statistician)|Henry Daniels]], David Wishart and Vic Barnett.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whittle |first=Peter |date=2000-05-04 |title=Henry Daniels |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/may/04/guardianobituaries1 |access-date=2023-10-17 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>  He stayed until 1973, when, at the behest of Professor Pat Rivett, he once again "retired" in order to become Visiting Professor of Mathematics at [[Sussex University]]. He remained an active member of the Sussex staff until he died in 1995 in [[Brighton]], two years after the birth of his first great grandchild Alexandra Eva (named after his wife).
-==Vignettes==
-Steven Vajda had a lively spirit and a gentle sense of humour. He would sometimes tell  stories about himself, such as his tale of crossing the Canadian border shortly after the war.  Steven was on an official trip to the USA and he was, of course, using his new British passport, after several years without proper travel documents.  He crossed into Canada to see Niagara Falls.  Entering Canada with a British passport was no problem, but when he returned to the US, the border control officer looked at him unsympathetically,  took his passport into his sentry box and thumbed through it. He then looked out at Steven and said in a stern voice, “Do you know what I’m going to do with your passport?”  Steven, visions of a seized passport and internment flashing before him, offered a meek, “No… what?”, to which the officer replied “I’m going to stamp it.”
-Steven enjoyed the democratic spirit and freedom of movement that a British passport represented.  Once, while attending a conference  in Vienna while that city was still subject to a postwar, Soviet-supervised, neutrality, Steven was stopped by a policeman for jaywalking. Several fellow mathematicians saw him remonstrating with the officer of  the law and pointing to his passport. Later, his colleagues insisted that Steven was playing at not speaking German, but he said rather that he was affirming his right, as a British subject, to walk where and when he pleased.
-Despite his dislike of some of the Austrian  governments of the 20th century, Steven remained a Viennese, a [[Habsburg]]-era Austro-Hungarian at heart.   He was a man of great culture.  The last time that I saw him, shortly before his death, my wife and I visited the Brighton Pavilion, now a museum, with him. Knowing that my wife is an art-history graduate, he turned to her and, with a twinkle in his eye, said, “I am just a mathematician, tell me all about this building and the paintings it contains.”  As it happened, she had in fact read a good deal about the Pavilion during her studies and she did quite well.  Steven gave her a good grade, and then guided us through the galleries, speaking masterfully and in great detail about the paintings and of the relationships between trends in painting and music throughout the ages. His font of knowledge went far beyond mathematics.
 ==Works==
-*''Theory of Games and Linear Programming''(1956)
+*''Theory of Games and Linear Programming'' (1956)
 *''Readings in Linear Programming'' (1958)
 *''Introduction to Linear Programming and the Theory of Games'' (1960)
-*''Mathematical Programming'' (1961)
+*[https://books.google.com/books/about/Mathematical_Programming.html?id=s8xViT7E1acC ''Mathematical Programming''] (1961)
 *''Mathematics of Experimental Design'' (1970)
-*''Probabilistic Programming'' (1972)
+*''[https://books.google.com/books?id=17riBQAAQBAJ Probabilistic Programming]'' (1972)
 *''Theory of Linear and Nonlinear Programming'' (1974)
-*''Mathematics of Manpower Planning'' (1978)
+*''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4kGTAAAAIAAJ Mathematics of Manpower Planning]'' (1978)
-*''Handbook of Applicable Mathematics: Supplement'' (1990), co-authored with Walter Ledermann, Emlyn Lloyd and Carol Alexander
+*''Handbook of Applicable Mathematics: Supplement'' (1990), co-authored with [[Walter Ledermann]], Emlyn Lloyd and Carol Alexander
-*''Mathematical Games and How to Play Them'' (1992)
+* ''[https://books.google.com/books/about/Mathematical_Games_and_How_to_Play_Them.html?id=F4epmWVyqW8C Mathematical Games and How to Play Them]'' (1992)
-*''A Mathematical Kaleidoscope: Applications in Industry, Business and Science'' (1995), co-authored with by Brian Conolly
+*''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AuqiAgAAQBAJ A Mathematical Kaleidoscope: Applications in Industry, Business and Science]'' (1995), co-authored with by Brian Conolly
-*''Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers, and the Golden Section: Theory and Applications'' (2008)
+*[https://books.google.com/books/about/Fibonacci_and_Lucas_Numbers_and_the_Gold.html?id=KkLfBQgYfdgC ''Fibonacci and Lucas Numbers, and the Golden Section: Theory and Applications''] (2008)
 ==  References ==
 {{reflist}}
+==Additional sources==
-==Sources==
+*Bather,  John; [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960101/ai_n9631854 Obituaries : Stefan Vajda]; ''The Independent'', (London),  1 January 1996
-Additionally, this article is based on the following publications and on over thirty years of personal communications{{Dubious|date=September 2008}}.
+*Haley K.B. and Williams H.P; [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/pal/01605682/1998/00000049/00000003/2600522 The work of Professor Steven Vajda 1901–1995]; ''Journal of the Operational Research Society'', Volume 49, Number 3, 1 March 1998, p.&nbsp;298-301; *Shutler, M.; Editorial: The life of Steven Vajda;  IMA;  J Management Math.1997; 8: 193-194;  [http://imaman.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/8/3/193.pdf]{{dead link|date=May 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
-*Bather,  John; [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960101/ai_n9631854 Obituaries : Stefan Vajda]; ''The Independent'', (London),  January 1, 1996
-*Haley K.B. and Williams H.P; [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/pal/01605682/1998/00000049/00000003/2600522 The work of Professor Steven Vajda 1901–1995]; ''Journal of the Operational Research Society'', Volume 49, Number 3, 1 March 1998, p. 298-301; *Shutler, M.; Editorial: The life of Steven Vajda;  IMA;  J Management Math.1997; 8: 193-194;  [http://imaman.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/8/3/193.pdf]
 *Author’s biography appearing in Mathematical Programming (by Steven Vajda), Addison-Wesley, 1961
+* [https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/History-and-Traditions/Biographical-Profiles/Vajda-Steven Biography of Steven Vajda] from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
+{{Authority control}}
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              =Vadja, Steven
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Hungarian mathematician
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = August 20, 1901
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
-| DATE OF DEATH     = December 10, 1995
-| PLACE OF DEATH    =
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vadja, Steven}}
 [[Category:1901 births]]
@@ Line 62: / Line 50: @@
 [[Category:Academics of the University of Sussex]]
 [[Category:Academics of the University of Birmingham]]
-[[Category:20th-century mathematicians]]
+[[Category:Mathematicians from Vienna]]
-[[Category:People from Budapest]]
+[[Category:People interned in the Isle of Man during World War II]]
-[[Category:Hungarian mathematicians]]
+[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Statistical Society]]
+[[Category:Mathematicians from Austria-Hungary]]

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