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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.
Also on this day,

1818 | Illinois becomes the 21st state in the US
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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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