John von Neumann
John von Neumann | |
|---|---|
 John von Neumann in the 1940s | |
| Born | December 28, 1903 |
| Died | February 8, 1957 (aged 53) |
| Nationality | Hungarian, American |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics |
John von Neumann (December 28. 1903 – February 8. 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist who made contributions to many fields including:
- set theory
- functional analysis
- quantum mechanics
- ergodic theory
- continuous geometry
- economics
- game theory
- computer science
- numerical analysis
- systems theory
- statistics
He is generally regarded as a prodigy, polymath and one of the most important mathematicians of the 20th century.[1] By some of his contemporaries suggested to be the "smartest human being ever"
Member of a group called 'Martians', a group of hungarian immigrants to the US of extraordinary intellect. Other people considered part of this group were Edward Teller, Paul Erdös, Leo Szillard and Eugene Wiegner.
His textbook on Quantum Mechanics is considered to be one of the first and a seminal work on this topic.
His game theory is considered one of the most important tools in competitive strategic management and is also of high importance in biosciences.
He is the designer of the Von-Neumann architecture, which is the basic architecture nearly all computers are still build upon today.
He was one of the first proponents of artificial intelligence and is considered the grandfather of the artificial life movement by proposing the idea of self replicating machines. This is why a machine that can replicate itself is now commonly referred to as a Von Neumann Machine
Further, together with Stanislav Ulam, he executed some of the most important calculations within the Manhattan project and had a massive impact on the military strategy of the United States in the early fifties until his death from cancer.
Worked at the same time at the Institute of Advanced Studies as Albert Einstein, Kurt Gödel and Robert Oppenheimer.
References
- ↑ "John von Neumann". MSN Encarta.
This short article about a person from the United States can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.