Illinois

Today in History 12/03 (John Backus)

Computer scientist John Backus (courtesy of Wikipedia)(1924) Computer programming pioneer is born
John Warner Backus is born in Philadelphia. After getting a master’s degree in mathematics from Columbia University, he will lead the team at IBM that invents Fortran—one of the first widely used computer programming languages—and develop other significant advances and research.
John Warner Backus was an American computer scientist. He directed the team that invented and implemented FORTRAN, the first widely used high-level programming language, and was the inventor of the Backus–Naur form, a widely used notation to define formal language syntax. He later did research into the function-level programming paradigm, presenting his findings in his influential 1977 Turing Award lecture “Can Programming Be Liberated from the von Neumann Style?”
Born: Dec 03, 1924 · Philadelphia, PA
Died: Mar 17, 2007 · Ashland, OR
Nationality: American
Inventions: Fortran · ALGOL · ALGOL 58 · Speedcoding · FP · FL
Education: Columbia University · University of Virginia · The Hill School
Awards: Turing Award (1977) · Charles Stark Draper Prize (1993) · National Medal of Science for Mathematics and Computer Science (1975)
Highlights
  • 1953: In 1953 Backus developed the language Speedcoding, the first high-level language created for an IBM computer, to aid in software development for the IBM 701 computer.

  • 1954: Programming was very difficult at this time, and in 1954 Backus assembled a team to define and develop Fortran for the IBM 704 computer.

  • 1967: The IEEE awarded Backus the W. W. McDowell Award in 1967 for the development of FORTRAN.

  • 1975: John Backus was awarded National Medal of Science for Mathematics and Computer Science in 1975.

  • 1977: John Backus was awarded Turing Award in 1977.

  • 2007: John Backus died on March 17, 2007 in Ashland, United States.

Punch card from a typical Fortran program
FORTRAN code on a punched card, showing the specialized uses of columns 1–5, 6 and 73–80
wiki/John_Backus
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(1924) Computer programming pioneer is born.
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1818 | Illinois becomes the 21st state in the US
What will be known as the Land of Lincoln, Illinois, joins the nation as the 21st state. Although it’s technically a slave-free state, slavery will be tolerated for many years in Illinois until the state Supreme Court gradually emancipates all people living in bondage.
1947 | ‘Streetcar’ opens in NYC as Brando screams, “Stella!” on Broadway and audiences rave
When the curtain falls on the first performance of Tennessee Williams’ play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ the audience applauds for half an hour. Epic performances will make Marlon Brando, who plays Stanley, an overnight star, and earn Jessica Tandy a Tony for her “incredibly true” portrayal of Blanche DuBois.
1979 | Who concert disaster as eleven people die in a stampede outside
Excitement turns deadly as thousands of fans push their way into the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati to see the British rock band the Who. Eleven people, mostly teenagers, are suffocated as the crowd crushes onto the concourse. The band won’t learn of the deaths until after the show.

Today in History 12/03/17

Illinois state flag (© Chris Mellor/Getty Images)(1818) Illinois becomes the 21st state in the US
What will be known as the Land of Lincoln, Illinois, joins the nation as the 21st state. Although it's technically a slave-free state, slavery will be tolerated for many years in Illinois until the state Supreme Court gradually emancipates all people living in bondage.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is the 5th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base and is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway. For decades, O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.
Population: 12.80 million (2016)
Area: 57,915 sq miles (149,998 km²)
Governor: Bruce Rauner
Colleges and universities: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign · Illinois State University · University of Chicago · Northwestern University · University of Illinois at Chicago · Southern Illinois University Carbondale · Northern Illinois University · Western Illinois University · Wheaton College · Eureka College · Bradley University · Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Senators: Dick Durbin · Tammy Duckworth
Capital: Springfield

Illinois in United States
Map of the United States with Illinois highlighted

wiki/Illinois
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Today in History 09/22 (Farm Aid)

Singer-songwriters Neil Young, Willie Nelson, and John Mellencamp on stage at Farm Aid in 1985. (© Bettmann/Getty Images)(1985) Musicians perform to help family farmers
Inspired by Live Aid, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young organize Farm Aid, a concert in Champaign, IL to benefit American family farmers. Other performers include Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Johnny Cash, and Lou Reed.
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert held September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, to raise money for family farmers in the United States. The concert was organized by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, spurred on by Bob Dylan’s comments at Live Aid earlier in that year that he hoped some of the money would help American farmers in danger of losing their farms through mortgage debt.
Founded: 1985
Location: United States

Farm Aid logo
This is a logo owned by Farm Aid for To illustrate the article of the organization with its logo
wiki/Farm_Aid
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(1985) Musicians perform to help family farmers.
Also on this day,

1598 | After duel, playwright Ben Jonson lands in prison
English playwright Ben Jonson, whose later literary achievements will be outshone only by Shakespeare, finds his career, and life, nearly ending before they really begin. The 26-year-old is brought up on charges for the killing of an actor, but acquitted after reciting a bible verse.
1980 | Iran-Iraq War as Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invades Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran
Considered the 20th-century’s lengthiest conventional war, the Iran-Iraq War begins as Iraqi forces invade an oil-rich Iranian border area. What will follow is almost eight years of battle that claims hundreds of thousands of lives but leaves the countries’ borders virtually unchanged.
1991 | Library ends scholarly seclusion of Dead Sea Scrolls
California’s Huntington Library shocks scholars as it releases photocopies of one of the top archaeological finds of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls. The ancient Jewish biblical texts, previously available to only a few researchers, are now accessible to all.

Today in History 09/22/17

Iraqi forces fire rocket launchers on the outskirts of Khorramshahr, a major Iranian supply port in 1980 (© Zuheir Saade/AP)(1980) Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran
Considered the 20th-century's lengthiest conventional war, the Iran-Iraq War begins as Iraqi forces invade an oil-rich Iranian border area. What will follow is almost eight years of battle that claims hundreds of thousands of lives but leaves the countries' borders virtually unchanged.
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq lasting from 22 September 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran, to August 1988. The war followed a long history of border disputes, and was motivated by fears that the Iranian Revolution in 1979 would inspire insurgency among Iraq's Shi'ite majority, as well as Iraq's desire to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state. Iraq planned to annex the oil-rich Khuzestan Province and the east bank of the Shatt al-Arab.
Start date: Sep 22, 1980
End date: Aug 20, 1988
Iran-Iraq war-gallery
top left: Military use of children in Iran-Iraq war. top right: Massacre Iranian Civilians by Iraqi Troops at first of Iran-Iraq War. middle left: A port quarter view of the guided missile frigate USS STARK (FFG-31) listing to port after being struck by an Iraqi-launched Exocet missile on the 17th of May 1987 middle right: Mujahedin was killed in Operation Mersad by Pasdaran in Kermanshah below left: In re-taking Khorramshahr, the Iranians captured some 19,000 soldiers from a demoralized Iraqi Army in 1982 below right: Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution & Islamic Republic of Iran Army used many zu-23 in Iran-Iraq war.

wiki/Iran–Iraq_War
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