About David Anthony Klarner
David Anthony Klarner, 58, American mathematician and author.
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Full Biography
|David Anthony Klarner (October 10, 1940 – March 20, 1999) was an American mathematician, author, and educator. He is known for his work in combinatorial enumeration, polyominoes, and box-packing.
Klarner was a friend and correspondent of mathematics popularizer Martin Gardner and frequently made contributions to Gardner's Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. He edited a book honoring Gardner on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Gardner in turn dedicated his twelfth collection of mathematical games columns to Klarner.
Beginning in 1969 Klarner made significant contributions to the theory of combinatorial enumeration, especially focusing on polyominoes and box-packing. Working with Ronald L. Rivest he found upper bounds on the number of n-ominoes. Klarner's Theorem is the statement that an m by n rectangle can be packed with 1-by-x rectangles if and only if x divides one of m and n.
He has also published important results in group theory and number theory, in particular working on the Collatz conjecture (sometimes called the 3x + 1 problem). The Klarner-Rado Sequence is named after Klarner and Richard Rado.
Biography
Klarner was born in Fort Bragg, California, and spent his childhood in Napa, California. He married Kara Lynn Klarner in 1961. Their son Carl Eoin Klarner was born on April 21, 1969.
Klarner did his undergraduate work at Humboldt State University (1960–63), got his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta (1963–66), and did post-doctoral work at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario (1966–68). He also did post-doctoral work at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands (1968–1970), at the University of Reading in England working with Richard Rado (1970–71), and at Stanford University (1971–73). He served as an assistant professor at Binghamton University (1973–79) and was a visiting professor at Humboldt State University in California (1979–80). He returned to Eindhoven as a professor (1980–81), and to Binghamton (1981–82). From 1982 to 1996 he was a professor of computer science at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, with a one-year break at Eindhoven in academic year 1991–92. He retired to Eureka, California in 1997 and died there in 1999.
He was a frequent contributor to recreational mathematics and worked with many key mathematics popularizers including Ronald L. Rivest, John H. Conway, Richard K. Guy, Donald Coxeter, Ronald Graham, and Donald Knuth.
Organizations and awards
Klarner was a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Fibonacci Association. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship Award in mathematics in 1963. In 1986 Klarner received a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Distinguished Teaching Award in Computer Science.
The David A. Klarner Fellowship for Computer Science was set up after Klarner's death by Spyros Magliveras a fellow professor in Computer Science at UNL.
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_A._Klarner
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
Trivia & Knowledge· 16 questions
Questions drawn from David Anthony Klarner's archived record and the sources above.
1.In what city was David Anthony Klarner born?
- A.Fort Bragg, Californiacorrect
- B.Napa, California
- C.Eureka, California
- D.Hamilton, Ontario
David Anthony Klarner was born in Fort Bragg, California.
Source: Biography section
2.What is the name of David Anthony Klarner's spouse?
- A.Kara Lynn Klarnercorrect
- B.Carl Eoin Klarner
- C.Martin Gardner
- D.Patricia Woodworth
David Anthony Klarner married Kara Lynn Klarner in 1961.
Source: Biography section
3.Where did David Anthony Klarner spend his childhood?
- A.Hamilton, Ontario
- B.Eindhoven, Netherlands
- C.Lincoln, Nebraska
- D.Napa, Californiacorrect
David Anthony Klarner spent his childhood in Napa, California.
Source: Biography section
4.At which institution did David Anthony Klarner receive his Ph.D.?
- A.Humboldt State University
- B.McMaster University
- C.University of Albertacorrect
- D.Stanford University
David Anthony Klarner obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta between 1963 and 1966.
Source: Biography section
5.Which mathematical popularizer did David Anthony Klarner frequently correspond with?
- A.Richard Rado
- B.Ronald Graham
- C.Donald Knuth
- D.Martin Gardnercorrect
David Anthony Klarner was a friend and correspondent of mathematics popularizer Martin Gardner.
Source: Introduction
6.What specific topic does Klarner's Theorem address?
- A.Tiered posets
- B.The Collatz conjecture
- C.Packing rectangles with 1-by-x rectanglescorrect
- D.Group theory results
Klarner's Theorem states that an m by n rectangle can be packed with 1-by-x rectangles if and only if x divides one of m and n.
Source: Introduction
7.Which of these researchers co-authored the paper on convex n-ominoes with David Anthony Klarner?
- A.F. Göbel
- B.Richard Rado
- C.Ronald L. Rivestcorrect
- D.Donald Knuth
David Anthony Klarner worked with Ronald L. Rivest to find upper bounds on the number of n-ominoes.
Source: Introduction
8.In what year did David Anthony Klarner receive a National Science Foundation Fellowship Award?
- A.1986
- B.1960
- C.1963correct
- D.1969
David Anthony Klarner was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship Award in mathematics in 1963.
Source: Organizations and awards section
9.Where did David Anthony Klarner serve as a professor of computer science from 1982 to 1996?
- A.Humboldt State University
- B.University of Nebraska–Lincolncorrect
- C.Stanford University
- D.Binghamton University
From 1982 to 1996, David Anthony Klarner was a professor of computer science at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Source: Biography section
10.Which sequence is named after David Anthony Klarner and Richard Rado?
- A.The Collatz Sequence
- B.The Klarner-Rado Sequencecorrect
- C.The Cayley-Hamilton Sequence
- D.The Fibonacci Sequence
The Klarner-Rado Sequence is named after David Anthony Klarner and Richard Rado.
Source: Introduction
11.What award did David Anthony Klarner receive in 1986 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln?
- A.Lifetime Achievement Award
- B.Mathematical Research Excellence Award
- C.National Science Foundation Fellowship
- D.Distinguished Teaching Award in Computer Sciencecorrect
In 1986, David Anthony Klarner received a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Distinguished Teaching Award in Computer Science.
Source: Organizations and awards section
12.Where did David Anthony Klarner do post-doctoral work with Richard Rado?
- A.McMaster University
- B.Eindhoven University of Technology
- C.University of Readingcorrect
- D.Stanford University
David Anthony Klarner did post-doctoral work at the University of Reading in England working with Richard Rado from 1970 to 1971.
Source: Biography section
13.What is the date of death of David Anthony Klarner?
- A.June 20, 1997
- B.March 20, 1999correct
- C.April 21, 1969
- D.October 10, 1940
David Anthony Klarner died on March 20, 1999.
Source: Introduction
14.Who established the David A. Klarner Fellowship for Computer Science?
- A.Ronald L. Rivest
- B.Martin Gardner
- C.Richard Rado
- D.Spyros Magliverascorrect
The David A. Klarner Fellowship for Computer Science was set up by fellow UNL professor Spyros Magliveras.
Source: Organizations and awards section
15.In what city did David Anthony Klarner die?
- A.Fort Bragg, California
- B.Lincoln, Nebraska
- C.Hamilton, Ontario
- D.Eureka, Californiacorrect
After retiring in 1997, David Anthony Klarner died in Eureka, California in 1999.
Source: Biography section
16.Which of the following professional organizations was David Anthony Klarner a member of?
- A.The National Academy of Sciences
- B.The Fibonacci Associationcorrect
- C.The IEEE
- D.The Royal Society
David Anthony Klarner was a member of the Fibonacci Association, among other mathematical societies.
Source: Organizations and awards section
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