Speaker:Prof. Andrew Thomason (DPMMS)
Venue: Old Combination Room, Trinity College
Time: 23/10/2006 20:30, drinks from 20:15

The four colour problem (that the countries of any map can be coloured using only four colours so that no two countries with a common border have the same colour) has generated interest for a long time. Sixty years ago a couple of TMS members, Cedric Smith and William Tutte, made some striking contributions. These will be described, together with more recent developments, in this self-contained talk.