Chebyshev and garment cutting. Debunking some myths

Abstract

In {\tt 1878}, Pafnuty Chebyshev presented to the {\it Association fran\c caise pour l'avan\-cement des sciences} {\it [French Association for the Advancement of the Sciences]} an article \cite{Chebyshev1878} dealing with garment cutting. According to Chebyshev himself, his interest was sparked by a lecture given by Édouard Lucas that he had attended in {\tt 1876} \cite{Lucas1876}. There is a second story on the origin of Chebyshev's interest in garment cutting according to which in the 1850s, being short of money, Chebyshev got himself a job as a consultant to a clothing factory. At the time of the Crimean War (1853-1856), there was a great demand for uniforms. Chebyshev was allegedly asked to optimize the use of fabric, and it was there that his interest in garment cutting was born. This second story appears to have its origin in a post by Clive J. Grant to MacTutor in 1996 \cite{Grant1996}. However, this contribution contains no references, and no other source of information that I have found offers any first-hand documentation to support this story. Our conclusion is that this second story is a fabrication, invented out of whole cloth.