Esther Szekeres

Esther Szekeres (née Klein) (~1910 ? 28 August, 2005) was a Hungarian-Australian mathematician. As a young woman in Budapest she was part of a group that included Paul Erdös, George Szekeres and Paul Turán, who met over interesting mathematical problems. In 1933, Esther proposed a combinatorical problem to the group that came to be known as the Happy Ending problem, because it led to the marriage of Esther Klein and George Szekeres in 1937.

Related Topics:
1910 - 28 August - 2005 - Mathematician - Budapest - Paul Erdös - George Szekeres - Paul Turán - 1933 - Happy Ending problem - 1937

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Following the outbreak of WWII, Esther and George Szekeres emigrated to Australia after spending several years in Hongkew (a community of refugees) located in Shanghai, China. In Australia they originally settled in Adelaide, before moving to Sydney in the 1960s.

Related Topics:
WWII - Australia - Hongkew - Shanghai, China - Adelaide - Sydney

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In Sydney, Esther lectured at Macquarie University and was actively involved in mathematics enrichment for high school students. In 1984, she jointly founded a weekly mathematics enrichment meeting that has since expanded into a program of ~30 groups that continue to meet weekly and inspire high school students throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Related Topics:
Macquarie University - 1984 - Australia - New Zealand

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In 2004, she and George moved back to Adelaide, where, on 28 August, 2005, she and her husband died within hours of each other.

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