A Voronoi diagram partitions a geometric object into cells, each of which consists of the points closer to one particular object than to any others. They were considered as early at 1644 by René Descartes, but Georgy Voronoy (1868-1908) extended the investigation to higher dimensions in the 19th century.
These diagrams are useful in modeling crystal and cell growth as well as protein molecule volume analysis. They also are used in computer graphics, epidemiology, geophysics, and meteorology. A particularly notable use of a Voronoi diagram was the analysis of the 1854 cholera epidemic in London, in which physician John Snow determined a strong correlation of deaths with proximity to a particular (and infected) water pump on Broad Street.
The Daily Omnivore 
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