In 1736, Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler set out to determine whether it was possible to cross each of the seven bridges of Königsberg exactly once without retracing any steps. Instead of finding a route, Euler proved that the task was mathematically impossible because of the arrangement of the bridges and landmasses. His solution transformed the puzzle into an abstract mathematical problem and laid the foundations of graph theory, a branch of mathematics that later became fundamental to computer science and network analysis.
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