The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, written
with Oskar Morgenstern (1902–76), which essentially
founded the field of GAME THEORY. He also made
major contributions to the development of the modern
computer, both as a practical design problem and as a
theoretical investigation into the nature and capabilities
of AUTOMATA. He was the first to devise a way of storing programs inside a computer.
Von Neumann demonstrated an incredible aptitude
for mathematics at a very early age. He received private
tutoring in mathematics from faculty members at the
University of Budapest while he was a high-school student, and by age 18 he had written and published a
coauthored mathematics paper. Although von Neumann
was admitted into the mathematics program at the University in 1921, he followed his father’s wishes and pursued chemistry at the University of Berlin and at the
Technische Hochschule in Zürich. Remarkably, without
ever attending a class at the University of Budapest, von
Neumann continued his work in mathematics privately,
passed the University mathematics examination, wrote
an influential thesis on the topic of set theory, and was
awarded a degree there in 1926, all the while pursuing a
degree in chemical engineering in Zürich. In 1930 von
Neumann accepted a professorship in mathematics at
Princeton University in the United States.
In 1932 he published his groundbreaking work
Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik
(Mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics) on
theoretical quantum mechanics, which led him to the
study of operator algebras and functional analysis for
the years that followed. In 1938 he was awarded the
Bôcher Prize from the American Mathematical Society
for his work in this field. In the early 1940s von Neumann’s interests turned to applied mathematics, and
in 1944 he published his famous piece on the topic of
game theory. His subsequent work in the logical
design of computers and the theory of automata
seemed, to von Neumann, a natural extension of all
his previous studies.
During and after World War II von Neumann
served as a consultant to the Defense Department and
to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. In 1955 President Eisenhower appointed him to the Atomic Energy
Commission, and in 1956 he was awarded the Enrico
Fermi Award for all his contributions in this regard.
The same year he was honored in academia with the
Albert Einstein Commemorative Award.
Von Neumann was elected to a large number of
academic societies throughout his life, including the
National Academy of Sciences (the United States), The
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Instituto
Lomdardo do Scienze e Lettere (Italy), and the Royal
Netherlands Academy of Sciences and Letters. He died
in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1957.
Newton, Sir Isaac (1642–1727) British Calculus,
Mechanics, Dynamics, Optics, Astronomy, Natural
philosophy Born on January 4, 1642, in Woolsthorpe,
England, Sir Isaac Newton is remembered as one of the
greatest scientific scholars of all time. He dominated
and revolutionized the mathematics and the physics of
the 17th century. Newton is responsible for the development of differential and integral CALCULUS and the
discovery of the FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF CALCULUS
that unites the two fields. He also generalized the BINOMIAL THEOREM to incorporate noninteger exponents;
developed numerical methods for solving DIFFERENTIAL
EQUATIONs, approximating LIMITs, and computing integrals; and discovered many important results in the
theory of equations. In physics, he is remembered for
his formulation of a system of mechanics capable of
precise and accurate descriptions of the motions of all
objects and for his universal law of gravitation through
an INVERSE SQUARE LAW. He outlined this work in his
1687 work Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (The mathematical principles of natural philosophy), often referred to simply as Principia. This is
today regarded as one of the most important scientific
works of all time.
Newton entered the Trinity College, Cambridge, in
1661 to study law and philosophy, but he soon discovered an interest in mathematics, optics, and mechanics.
A personal notebook from the time reveals that he
read, and worked through in detail, the works of
EUCLID (ca. 300–260 B.C.E.) and RENÉ DESCARTES
(1596–1650) on the topic of geometry, of GALILEO
GALILEI (1564–1642) on the mechanics of the universe,
and of FRANÇOIS VIÈTE (1540–1603) and JOHN WALLIS (1616–1703) on algebra. Newton extended some of
Wallis’s techniques for finding the area of curved figures and worked on new approaches to infinite SERIES.
He graduated from Cambridge with a bachelor’s degree
in 1665, but he did not attract the attention of his professors as a particularly gifted scholar at the time.
Newton, Sir Isaac 351
with Oskar Morgenstern (1902–76), which essentially
founded the field of GAME THEORY. He also made
major contributions to the development of the modern
computer, both as a practical design problem and as a
theoretical investigation into the nature and capabilities
of AUTOMATA. He was the first to devise a way of storing programs inside a computer.
Von Neumann demonstrated an incredible aptitude
for mathematics at a very early age. He received private
tutoring in mathematics from faculty members at the
University of Budapest while he was a high-school student, and by age 18 he had written and published a
coauthored mathematics paper. Although von Neumann
was admitted into the mathematics program at the University in 1921, he followed his father’s wishes and pursued chemistry at the University of Berlin and at the
Technische Hochschule in Zürich. Remarkably, without
ever attending a class at the University of Budapest, von
Neumann continued his work in mathematics privately,
passed the University mathematics examination, wrote
an influential thesis on the topic of set theory, and was
awarded a degree there in 1926, all the while pursuing a
degree in chemical engineering in Zürich. In 1930 von
Neumann accepted a professorship in mathematics at
Princeton University in the United States.
In 1932 he published his groundbreaking work
Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik
(Mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics) on
theoretical quantum mechanics, which led him to the
study of operator algebras and functional analysis for
the years that followed. In 1938 he was awarded the
Bôcher Prize from the American Mathematical Society
for his work in this field. In the early 1940s von Neumann’s interests turned to applied mathematics, and
in 1944 he published his famous piece on the topic of
game theory. His subsequent work in the logical
design of computers and the theory of automata
seemed, to von Neumann, a natural extension of all
his previous studies.
During and after World War II von Neumann
served as a consultant to the Defense Department and
to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. In 1955 President Eisenhower appointed him to the Atomic Energy
Commission, and in 1956 he was awarded the Enrico
Fermi Award for all his contributions in this regard.
The same year he was honored in academia with the
Albert Einstein Commemorative Award.
Von Neumann was elected to a large number of
academic societies throughout his life, including the
National Academy of Sciences (the United States), The
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Instituto
Lomdardo do Scienze e Lettere (Italy), and the Royal
Netherlands Academy of Sciences and Letters. He died
in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1957.
Newton, Sir Isaac (1642–1727) British Calculus,
Mechanics, Dynamics, Optics, Astronomy, Natural
philosophy Born on January 4, 1642, in Woolsthorpe,
England, Sir Isaac Newton is remembered as one of the
greatest scientific scholars of all time. He dominated
and revolutionized the mathematics and the physics of
the 17th century. Newton is responsible for the development of differential and integral CALCULUS and the
discovery of the FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF CALCULUS
that unites the two fields. He also generalized the BINOMIAL THEOREM to incorporate noninteger exponents;
developed numerical methods for solving DIFFERENTIAL
EQUATIONs, approximating LIMITs, and computing integrals; and discovered many important results in the
theory of equations. In physics, he is remembered for
his formulation of a system of mechanics capable of
precise and accurate descriptions of the motions of all
objects and for his universal law of gravitation through
an INVERSE SQUARE LAW. He outlined this work in his
1687 work Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (The mathematical principles of natural philosophy), often referred to simply as Principia. This is
today regarded as one of the most important scientific
works of all time.
Newton entered the Trinity College, Cambridge, in
1661 to study law and philosophy, but he soon discovered an interest in mathematics, optics, and mechanics.
A personal notebook from the time reveals that he
read, and worked through in detail, the works of
EUCLID (ca. 300–260 B.C.E.) and RENÉ DESCARTES
(1596–1650) on the topic of geometry, of GALILEO
GALILEI (1564–1642) on the mechanics of the universe,
and of FRANÇOIS VIÈTE (1540–1603) and JOHN WALLIS (1616–1703) on algebra. Newton extended some of
Wallis’s techniques for finding the area of curved figures and worked on new approaches to infinite SERIES.
He graduated from Cambridge with a bachelor’s degree
in 1665, but he did not attract the attention of his professors as a particularly gifted scholar at the time.
Newton, Sir Isaac 351