The mathematician who drove Whist forward: William Henry Whitfeld (1856–1915)

Abstract

As a card game in which different partnerships play against each other, or each player plays with different partners, Whist is a popular social activity. The organization of whist drives where people move from table to table is a practical problem, and one that offers a mathematical challenge. How should a drive be organized? In solving such problems W H Whitfeld contributed to the development of the modern combinatorial theory of tournaments.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Jonathan Smith at the Wren Library for information about Whitfeld’s student activities at Trinity College Cambridge.