Gaston Tarry (27 September 1843 – 21 June 1913) was a French mathematician. Born in Villefranche de Rouergue, Aveyron, he studied mathematics at high school before joining the civil service in Algeria. He pursued mathematics as an amateur.
In 1895 Tarry published a systematic algorithm for traversing a maze without prior knowledge of its layout; this method is now recognized in graph theory as one of the earliest variants of a depth-first search (DFS) algorithm.
Tarry also made contributions to number theory and combinatorics, including work on the Prouhet–Tarry–Escott problem.
In 1900 Tarry confirmed Leonhard Euler's conjecture that no 6×6 Graeco-Latin square was possible (the 36 officers problem).
Tarry, Gaston (1886). "Géométrie de situation: Nombre de manières distinctes de parcourir en une seule course toutes les allées d'un labyrinthe rentrant...". Comptes Rendus de l'Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences. 15 (2): 49–53.
Tarry, Gaston (1895). "Le problème des labyrinthes". Nouvelles Annales de Mathématiques. Série 3. 14: 187–190.
Tarry, Gaston (1898). "Question 1401". L'Intermédiaire des Mathématiciens. 5: 266–267.
Tarry, Gaston (1900). "Le problème des 36 officiers". Comptes Rendus de l'Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences. 29 (1): 122–123.
Tarry, Gaston (1901). "Le problème des 36 officiers". Comptes Rendus de l'Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences. 29 (2): 170–203.
List of amateur mathematicians
O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Gaston Tarry", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
Weisstein, Eric W. "36 Officer Problem". MathWorld.
Grime, James. "Euler Squares" (video). YouTube. Brady Haran. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 9 May 2020.