An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research: An Informal History

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An Annotated Timeline of Operations Research An Informal History recounts the evolution of Operations Research (OR) as a new science - the science of decision making. Arising from the urgent operational issues of World War II, the philosophy and methodology of OR has permeated the resolution of decision problems in business, industry, and government. The Timeline chronicles the history of OR in the form of self-contained, expository entries. Each entry presents a concise explanation of the events and people under discussion, and provides key sources where further relevant information can be obtained. In addition, books and papers that have influenced the development of OR or helped to educate the first generations of OR academics and practitioners are cited throughout the book. Starting in 1564 with seminal ideas that form the precursors of OR, the Timeline traces the key ideas and events of OR through 2004. The Timeline should interest anyone involved in OR - researchers, practitioners, academics, and, especially, students - who wish to learn how OR came into being. Further, the scope and expository style of the Timeline should make it of value to the general reader interested in the development of science and technology in the last half of the twentieth century.DO YOU KNOW: The U. S. World War II OR analyst assigned to the 8th Air force in England who later became a Supreme Court justice; Who first solved the general n-point facility location problem when he was 16 years old; Why did the economist T.C. Koopmans give away a third of his 1975 Nobel prize in economics; Who wrote the first book on OR methods in 1946 and why was it not published until 1951? /LIST