Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Honors Program Senior Projects WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Spring 2012 The Four Color Theorem Patrick Turner Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors Part of the Computer Sciences Commons, and the Mathematics Commons Recommended Citation Turner, Patrick, "The Four Color Theorem" (2012). WWU Honors Program Senior Projects. 299. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/299 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Honors Program Senior Projects by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Western WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ^ Honors Program HONORS THESIS In presenting this Honors paper in partial requirements for a bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood that anv publication of this thesis for commercial purposes or for financial gain shall not be allowed without mv written permission. Signature Active Minds Changing Lives Senior Project Patrick Turner The Four Color Theorem The history of mathematics is pervaded by problems which can be stated simply, but are difficult and in some cases impossible to prove. The pursuit of solutions to these problems has been an important catalyst in mathematics, aiding the development of many disparate fields. While Fermat’s Last theorem, which states x ” + y ” = has no integer solutions for n > 2 and x, y, 2 ^ is perhaps the most famous of these problems, the Four Color Theorem proved a challenge to some of the greatest mathematical minds from its conception 1852 until its eventual proof in 1976.