Monge: a mathematical theory of earth moving

What changed

Posed least-cost transfer of excavated earth to fill locations as a geometric optimization problem.

Scientific scope

The record is Monge’s 1781 memoir. Later Kantorovich relaxation and duality, Wasserstein metrics, computational algorithms and modern data-science applications remain separate.

Evidence

The linked sources identify this contribution and its scope. WRS has not independently reconstructed the scientific claims. The record is Monge’s 1781 memoir. Later Kantorovich relaxation and duality, Wasserstein metrics, computational algorithms and modern data-science applications remain separate.

Contributors

• Gaspard Monge · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.

• BnF bibliography on Monge’s transport memoir
• Google Books record for Monge’s 1781 memoir

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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