Kempe

Alfred Bray Kempe

Born: 6 July 1849 in Kensington, London, England
Died: 21 April 1922

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Kempe was educated at Cambridge and graduated in 1872. He was a barrister by profession, and an authority on ecclesiastical law, while his favourite recreations were mathematics and music.

He published a false "proof" of the four colour theorem in 1879 which stood until Heawood showed the mistake 11 years later. The 'proof' is however still the basis for the computer aided proof discovered 100 years later.

His other work (which was correct!) on straight line linkages was inspired by Sylvester. Kempe published How to draw a straight line: A lecture on linkages in 1877, which was a classic on the topic. He was elected to the Royal Society on 1881.

References elsewhere in this archive:

Tell me about Kempe's work on the four colour theorem

Kempe worked on Watt's Curve

References:

  1. Obituary of Alfred Bray Kempe, Proc. Roy. Soc. London A 102 (1923), i - x. 
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