John George Kemeny
Encyclopedia
John George Kemeny (May 31, 1926 – December 26, 1992) was a Hungarian American
mathematician
, computer scientist
, and educator best known for co-developing 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.
, Hungary
on May 31, 1926. 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 when Hungary's invasion by Nazi Germany
became imminent. His grandfather, however, refused to leave and perished in the Holocaust, along with an aunt and uncle. 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. In 1943 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 during graduate school. Kemeny was awarded his doctorate in 1949 for a dissertation entitled "Type-Theory
vs. Set-Theory
".
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. 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 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.
John Kemeny died at the age of 66, the result of heart failure in Lebanon, New Hampshire
on December 26, 1992. He had lived in Etna
, near the Dartmouth campus.
Hungarian American
Hungarian Americans Hungarian are American citizens of Hungarian descent. The constant influx of Hungarian immigrants was marked by several waves of sharp increase.-History:...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, computer scientist
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, and educator best known for co-developing the BASIC programming language in 1964 with Thomas E. Kurtz
Thomas Eugene Kurtz
Thomas Eugene Kurtz is an American computer scientist who co-developed the BASIC programming language during 1963 to 1964, together with John G. Kemeny....
. Kemeny served as the 13th President of Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
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
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
in 1979.
Biography
John Kemeny was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
on May 31, 1926. Kemeny attended the Rácz private primary school in Budapest and was a classmate of Nandor Balazs
Nandor Balazs
Nandor Balazs |New York]], August 16, 2003) Hungarian-American physicist, external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences .-Early life and education:Balazs attended to the Rácz private primary school and was a classmate of Janos Kemeny....
. In 1938 his father left for the United States alone. In 1940, he took the whole Kemeny family to the United States when Hungary's invasion by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
became imminent. His grandfather, however, refused to leave and perished in the Holocaust, along with an aunt and uncle. Kemeny's family settled in New York City where he attended George Washington High School
George Washington High School (New York City)
George Washington High School is a public high school located in the Fort George neighborhood of the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City, New York....
. He graduated with the best results in his class three years later. In 1943 Kemeny entered Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he studied mathematics and philosophy, but he took a year off during his studies to work on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
in Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
. His boss there was Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
. He also worked there with John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
. Returning to Princeton, Kemeny graduated with his B.A. in 1947, then worked for his doctorate under Alonzo Church
Alonzo Church
Alonzo Church was an American mathematician and logician who made major contributions to mathematical logic and the foundations of theoretical computer science. He is best known for the lambda calculus, Church–Turing thesis, Frege–Church ontology, and the Church–Rosser theorem.-Life:Alonzo Church...
. He worked as Einstein's
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
mathematical assistant during graduate school. Kemeny was awarded his doctorate in 1949 for a dissertation entitled "Type-Theory
Type theory
In mathematics, logic and computer science, type theory is any of several formal systems that can serve as alternatives to naive set theory, or the study of such formalisms in general...
vs. Set-Theory
Set theory
Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics...
".
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. Kemeny and Kurtz pioneered the use of computers for ordinary people. After early experiments with the LGP-30
LGP-30
The LGP-30, standing for Librascope General Purpose and then Librascope General Precision, was an early off-the-shelf computer. It was manufactured by the Librascope company of Glendale, California , and sold and serviced by the Royal Precision Electronic Computer Company, a joint venture with the...
, 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 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
True BASIC
True BASIC is a variant of the BASIC programming language descended from Dartmouth BASIC — the original BASIC — invented by college professors John G. Kemeny and Thomas E...
, an updated version of the language.
John Kemeny died at the age of 66, the result of heart failure in Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
on December 26, 1992. He had lived in Etna
Etna, New Hampshire
Etna, originally named "Mill Village," is a small village within the town of Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is located in southwestern Grafton County, approximately east of Hanover's downtown and south of the village of Hanover Center, on Mink Brook...
, near the Dartmouth campus.
See also
- Kemeny-Young methodKemeny-Young methodThe Kemeny–Young method is a voting system that uses preferential ballots and pairwise comparison counts to identify the most popular choices in an election...
- Ivy League Presidents
- Kemeny's constant (a number arising in the study of Markov chainMarkov chainA Markov chain, named after Andrey Markov, is a mathematical system that undergoes transitions from one state to another, between a finite or countable number of possible states. It is a random process characterized as memoryless: the next state depends only on the current state and not on the...
s).
External links
- The Papers of John G. Kemeny in the Dartmouth College Library
- 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
- Interview with Kemeny about his experience at Princeton
- True Basic Inc. information