On the history of the shortest path problem
Alexander Schrijver · Documenta mathematica series · 2012
It is difficult to trace back the history of the shortest path problem. One can imagine that even in very primitive (even animal) societies, finding short paths (for instance, to food) is essential. Compared with other combinatorial optimization problems, like shortest spanning tree, assignment and transportation, the mathematical research in the shortest path problem started relatively late. This might be due to the fact that the problem is elementary and relatively easy, which is also illustrated by the fact that at the moment that the problem came into the focus of interest, several researchers independently developed similar methods. Yet, the problem has offered some substantial difficulties. For some considerable period heuristical, nonoptimal approaches have been investigated (cf. for instance Rosenfeld [1956], who gave a heuristic approach for determining an optimal trucking route through a given traffic congestion pattern). Path finding, in particular searching in a maze, belongs to the classical graph problems, and the classical references are Wiener [1873], Lucas [1882] (describing