Von Neumann, John
The Oxford Companion to United States History
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2001
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© The Oxford Companion to United States History 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information)
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Von Neumann, John (1903–1957),
computer pioneer, mathematician, government consultant.Born in Budapest, John von Neumann received his doctorate in mathematics with minors in experimental physics and chemistry from the University of Budapest in 1926. He came to Princeton University as a visiting lecturer in 1930 and three years later became professor of mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (with Oskar Morgenstern) appeared in 1944 and the English translation of a work published earlier in Europe,
Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, in 1955. Active in government service, he worked at Los Alamos on the
Manhattan Project (1943–1945); consulted with the army's Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen, Maryland; and served on the
Atomic Energy Commission (1954–1957).
Von Neumann also participated in numerous discussions with the staff of the Electronic Numeric Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) project at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1945 drafted a report on this project defining the key elements of a digital computer and introducing the “stored‐program” concept used by ENIAC's successor, the Electronic Discrete Variable Computer (EDVAC). Although not intended for distribution, this document circulated widely, touching off an early controversy in the fledgling computer‐science field, since it bore only von Neumann's name. A computer von Neumann built at the Institute for Advanced Study, called the Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator, and Computer (MANIAC), served as a prototype for many early computers and supplied computations crucial to the development of the hydrogen bomb. A brilliant theoretician, he also wrote two posthumously published works,
The Computer and the Brain (1958) and, with Arthur Burks,
Theory of Self‐Reproducing Automata (1966).
See also
Mathematics and Statistics;
Nuclear Weapons;
Physical Science;
Science: From 1914 to 1945;
Science: Since 1945.
Bibliography
A.H. Taub, ed., John von Neumann: Collected Works, 6 vols., 1960–1963.
William Aspray , John von Neumann and the Origins of Modern Computing, 1990.
Thomas J. Bergin
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John von Neumann's contribution to economic science.
Magazine article from: International Social Science Review; 9/22/2003; ; 700+ words
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John Von Neumann.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: The Economist (US); 12/19/1992; ; 700+ words
; JOHN VON NEUMANN. By Norman Macrae. Pantheon Books; 405 pages; $25 ALTHOUGH John von Neumann was probably the greatest mathematician of the century, he is out of...
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Reflexivity, reproduction, and evolution: from von Neumann to Powers.(John von Neumann's Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata)(Richard Powers's novel, Galatea 2.2.)
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Von Neumann dies.(John von Neumann)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
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Database Pioneer Michael Stonebraker Receives 2005 IEEE John von Neumann Medal.
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von Neumann, John
Book article from: Computer Sciences
von Neumann, John Hungarian Computer Scientist and Mathematician 1903 – 1957 John Louis von Neumann was one of the great pioneers of...1972. von Neumann, Nicholas A. John von Neumann: As Seen by His Brother. Meadowbrook...
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Von Neumann, John
Encyclopedia entry from: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
Von Neumann, John 1903 – 1957 John von Neumann (born December 28, 1903 in Hungary...widely acknowledged. SEE ALSO ; ; ; Von Neumann, John. 1945. A Model of General Economic...
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Neumann, John Von
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to American Military History
Neumann, John Von (1903–1957), pioneer...Military. ] Bibliography Steve Heims , John von Neumann and Norbert Weiner: From Mathematics...and Death , 1980. William Aspray , John von Neumann and the Origins of Modern Computing...
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non von Neumann architecture
Book article from: A Dictionary of Computing
non von Neumann architecture Any computer architecture in which the underlying...computation is different from what has come to be called the standard von Neumann model (see von Neumann machine ). A non von Neumann machine may thus be without the...
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John Von Neumann
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography
John Von Neumann The Hungarian-born American mathematician John Von Neumann (1903-1957) was the originator...contributor to computer technology. John Von Neumann was born in Budapest on Dec. 28...
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