Theorem

Five Color Theorem

Combinatorics and Graph Theory

The five color theorem, in graph theory, states that the regions of any planar map, such as a political map, can be colored with at most five colors so that no two regions sharing a border of positive length receive the same color. Percy John Heawood proved it in 1890, building on techniques from Alfred Kempe's flawed 1879 attempt to prove the stronger four color theorem, whose error was not found for eleven years and which was not rigorously settled until 1976.

Facts
Proof Year
1890 1
Proof Method
Induction 2
Classification
Statement Form
Existence Theorem 1
Connections

Has Statement Form

In Branch

Source Five color theorem (Wikipedia)

Proved By

Source Five color theorem (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Five color theorem (Wikipedia)
  • Lead paragraph
    It was first proved by Percy John Heawood in 1890
  • In Branch: Graph Theory, Lead sentence
    The five color theorem is a result from graph theory that given a plane separated into regions, such as a political map of the cou
  • Proved By: Percy John Heawood, Lead sentence, attribution
    first proved by Percy John Heawood in 1890
  • In Group: Graph Theory, Lead section
    The five color theorem is a result from graph theory that given a plane separated into regions, such
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2. ProofWiki: Five Color Theorem - ProofWiki
ProofWikiProof
Quote, Proof
The proof proceeds by the Principle of Mathematical Induction on the number of vertices.
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