History
The first solution was published by Arthur Cayley. This was shortly followed by Kirkman's own solution which was given as a special case of his considerations on combinatorial arrangements published three years prior. J. J. Sylvester also investigated the problem and ended up declaring that Kirkman stole the idea from him. The puzzle appeared in several recreational mathematics books at the turn of the century by Lucas, Rouse Ball, Ahrens, and Dudeney.
Kirkman often complained about the fact that his substantial paper (Kirkman 1847) was totally eclipsed by the popular interest in the schoolgirl problem.
Read more about this topic: Kirkman's Schoolgirl Problem
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