John von Neumann died on 8 February 1957 in Washington, D.C., aged 53. A Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist, von Neumann made fundamental contributions to set theory, quantum mechanics, game theory, economics and computing. He developed the mathematical foundations of quantum theory, wrote Theory of Games and Economic Behavior with Oskar Morgenstern, and described the stored-program architecture that still underlies most computers. He was a member of the Manhattan Project and worked on the hydrogen bomb, and he later served on the Atomic Energy Commission. Colleagues were awed by his speed of thought and memory. He died of cancer in his early fifties.
Before and after
- 1957Founding of Council of the European Union
- 10 January 1957Death of Gabriela Mistral
- 14 January 1957Death of Humphrey Bogart
- 8 February 1957Founding of Confederation of African Football
- 8 February 1957Death of John von Neumann
- 6 March 1957Ghana becomes independent
- 10 March 1957Birth of Osama bin Laden
- 25 March 1957Treaty of Rome
- 25 March 1957Founding of European Atomic Energy Community
More in Science & technology
- 25 April 1953Watson and Crick publish the structure of DNA
- 1971Email
- 1973Mobile phone
- 20 November 1985Creation of Microsoft Windows
- July 2000Discovery of livermorium
- August 2003Discovery of moscovium
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.