John Nash

John Forbes Nash Jr. (1928-2015) was an economist and a mathematician who won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics. He is often credited as one of the inventors of the game of Hex.

Nash and Hex

According to Nash, he invented Hex at Princeton in 1948 or 1949 independently of Piet Hein, who had already invented and published Hex in 1942. However, there is some uncertainty about whether Nash's rediscovery of Hex was truly independent, as it is known that Hex had already been brought to Princeton by Danish students by early 1948. One of these students was Aage Bohr, the son of Niels Bohr and a friend of Piet Hein. Therefore, Nash may have been exposed to the game, perhaps without realizing it. See History of Hex for more details.

Nash's fellow players at first called the game "Nash". It is rumored that the game was also known by the name "John" at Princeton, because it could be played on the hexagonal tiles of a bathroom floor. However, Hayward and Toft state that they were unable to find any records or other evidence in support of this rumor.

Nash in popular culture

Nash was the subject of the bestselling book A Beautiful Mind. In 2001, the book was made into a movie starring Russell Crowe as Nash; the movie was highly successful and won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. (source)

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Nash won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences [1] and the 2015 Abel Prize in Mathematics [2]. He is the only person to have won both prizes.