George Lenchner, the mathematics educator who created the Math Olympiads competition, died April 23. He was 88 and had struck his head in a fall the day before his death.
Mr. Lenchner, who lived in San Francisco, started the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools, or MOEMS, in 1978. Today, the Bellmore, N.Y.-based organization serves schools throughout the United Sates and in 30 nations.
Schools that join the program sponsor math contests each month that are designed to build students’ understanding of key concepts.
Mr. Lenchner served as an Airborne Ranger in World War II before earning a master’s degree in music. In 1950, he became a math teacher in New York state, and he worked for the Valley Stream Central School District until 1983, when he began concentrating full time on the MOEMS work.
