John George Kemeny

John George Kemeny (Kemény János) (May 31, 1926–December 26, 1992), U.S. computer scientist and educator best known for co-developing the BASIC programming language in 1964 with Thomas Eugene Kurtz. He also served as the 13th President of Dartmouth College 1970–1981 and pioneered the use of computers in college education. Kemeny chaired the presidential commission that investigated the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

Related Topics:
May 31 - 1926 - December 26 - 1992 - U.S. - Computer scientist - BASIC programming language - 1964 - Thomas Eugene Kurtz - Dartmouth College - 1970 - 1981 - Three Mile Island - 1979

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John Kemeny attended primary school in Budapest, emigrating to the United States in 1940. Kemeny's family settled in New York City where he attended high school. 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. 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. Kemeny was awarded his doctorate in 1949 for a dissertation entitled "Type-Theory vs. Set-Theory".

Related Topics:
Budapest - Princeton University - Manhattan Project - Los Alamos - Richard Feynman - John von Neumann - Alonzo Church - Type-Theory - Set-Theory

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Kemeny was appointed to the Dartmouth Mathematics Department in 1953. Two years later he became chairman of the Department, and held this post until 1967. He was president of Dartmouth from 1970 to 1981. In 1982, he returned to full-time teaching but in fact, he continued teaching all the years he was president.

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Kemeny and Kurtz pioneered the use of computers for "average people". After early experiments with the LGP-30, they invented the well-known BASIC programming language in 1964, as well as one of the world's first timesharing systems, the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System (DTSS).

Related Topics:
LGP-30 - BASIC programming language - Dartmouth Time-Sharing System

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