John G. Kemeny
John George Kemeny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In office 1970–1981 | |
| Preceded by | John Sloan Dickey |
| Succeeded by | David T. McLaughlin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 31, 1926 Budapest, Hungary |
| Died | December 26, 1992 (aged 66) Hanover, New Hampshire |
John George Kemeny (Template:Lang-hu) (May 31, 1926[1] – December 26, 1992) was a Hungarian American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator best known for co-developing[2] the BASIC programming language in 1964 with Thomas E. Kurtz. Kemeny served as the 13th President of Dartmouth College from 1970 to 1981 and pioneered the use of computers in college education. Kemeny chaired the presidential commission that investigated the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.[2]
Early Life
Born in Budapest, Hungary,[1] Kemeny attended the Rácz private primary school in Budapest and was a classmate of Nandor Balazs. In 1938 his father left for the United States alone. In 1940, he took the whole Kemeny family to the United States[1] when Hungary's invasion by Nazi Germany became imminent.[3] His grandfather, however, refused to leave and perished in the Holocaust, along with an aunt and uncle.[4] Kemeny's family settled in New York City where he attended George Washington High School. He graduated with the best results in his class three years later.[2] In 1943[1] Kemeny entered Princeton University where he studied mathematics and philosophy, but he took a year off during his studies to work on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos National Laboratory. His boss there was Richard Feynman. He also worked there with John von Neumann. Returning to Princeton, Kemeny graduated with his B.A. in 1947, then worked for his doctorate under Alonzo Church. He worked as Einstein's mathematical assistant[1] during graduate school. Kemeny was awarded his doctorate in 1949 for a dissertation entitled "Type-Theory vs. Set-Theory".
Career
Kemeny was appointed to the Dartmouth Mathematics Department in 1953.[1] Two years later he became chairman of the Department, and held this post until 1967. Kemeny and Kurtz pioneered the use of computers for ordinary people. After early experiments with the LGP-30, they invented BASIC programming language in 1964, as well as one of the world's first timesharing systems, the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System (DTSS).
John Kemeny was president of Dartmouth from 1970 to 1981, and continued to teach undergraduate courses and to do research and publish papers during his time as president. He presided over the coeducation of Dartmouth in 1972. He also instituted the "Dartmouth Plan" of year-round operations, thereby allowing more students without more buildings. During his administration, Dartmouth became more proactive in recruiting and retaining minority students[2] and revived its founding commitment to provide education for Native Americans. Kemeny made Dartmouth a pioneer in student use of computers, equating computer literacy with reading literacy. In 1982 he returned to teaching full time.
In 1983, Kemeny and Kurtz co-founded a company called True BASIC, Inc. to market True BASIC, an updated version of the language.
Death
John Kemeny died at the age of 66, the result of heart failure in Lebanon, New Hampshire[2] on December 26, 1992.[3] He had lived in Etna, near the Dartmouth campus.
See also
- Kemeny-Young method
- Kemeny's constant (a number arising in the study of Markov chains).
References
- ^ a b c d e f Weibel, Peter (2005). Beyond Art - A Third Culture : a Comparative Study in Cultures, Art, and Science in 20th Century Austria and Hungary. Springer. p. 350. ISBN 3-211-24562-6.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e Faison, Seth (1992-12-27). "John Kemeny, 66, Computer Pioneer and Educator (obituary)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ a b Ohles, Frederik (1997). Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 189. ISBN 0-313-29133-0.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "True Basic. A sketch of John Kemeny". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. 2001-12-13. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) [dead link]
External links
[http//www.successwithmustaphafoukara.com A modern view of the concept of success]
- Posted in the article with permission from Dartmouth College
- Dartmouth Wheelock Succession
- Bio at Bellevue C.C. site
- A sketch of John Kemeny for the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "John G. Kemeny", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
- John G. Kemeny at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- Interview with Kemeny about his experience at Princeton
- True Basic Inc. information
- 1926 births
- 1992 deaths
- Computer pioneers
- Manhattan Project people
- American people of Hungarian descent
- American computer scientists
- Hungarian mathematicians
- Jewish American scientists
- Princeton University alumni
- Dartmouth College faculty
- Presidents of Dartmouth College
- BASIC programming language
- Programming language designers
- People associated with nuclear power
- Hungarian emigrants to the United States
- People who emigrated to escape Nazism
- Hungarian Jews
- Hungarian computer scientists
- American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
- People from Pest, Hungary
- Mathematical economists
- Mathematics educators