Mathematician John Nash dies in car crash

John F. Nash Jr. was 86 when he breathed his last in the accident.

Dr. Nash, and his wife, Alicia, 82, were in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike in Monroe Township around 4:30 p.m. when the driver lost control while trying to pass another car and hit a guard rail and another vehicle,  Sgt. Gregory Williams of the New Jersey State Police was quoted as saying by The New York Times.

Born on June 13, 1928, he was an American mathematician whose works in game theory, differential geometry, and partial differential equations have provided insight into the factors that govern chance and events inside complex systems in daily life.

His theories are used in economics, computing, evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, accounting, politics and military theory.

He had won  the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994.

In 1959, Nash was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was committed to a number of psychiatric hospitals for treatment.

Nash's struggles with his illness and his recovery became the basis for Sylvia Nasar's biography A Beautiful Mind as well as a feature film starring actor Russell Crowe.

Actor Russell Crowe tweeted: "Stunned...my heart goes out to John & Alicia & family. An amazing partnership. Beautiful minds, beautiful hearts."

Filmmaker Ron Howard said: "RIP Brilliant #NobelPrize winning John Nash & and his remarkable wife Alicia. It was an honor telling part of their story #ABeautifulMind."

Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam tweeted: "Sad at the news of the demise of Nobel winner John Nash.. One of the best minds of our times passes away."
 

Image: Wikimedia Commons