John von Neumann was born on December 28, 1903 in Budapest, Hungary into a banking family. He received his early education in Budapest, taught by M. Fekete (tutor). He entered the University of Budapest in 1929 where he studied Chemistry, moving his base of studies to both Berlin and Zurich before he received his diploma in Chemical Engineering (1925). He then went back to university to receive his doctrine in 1928. At this point in time there was a political unrest in central Europe, when he was invited to Princeton University. While there, von Neumann was appointed one of the original six Professors of Mathematics in the Institute for Advanced Studies. He kept this position till his death. Becoming a U.S. citizen in 1937, he was in time for clearance for wartime work. During World War II John served as a consultant on the Los Alamos atomic- bomb project. He spent his life playing the role of a great mathematician, coming up with great ideas such as the IAS computer and von Neumann Architecture.

Education

    Von Neumann began his post secondary education at the University of Budapest in 1921. He then moved to the university of Berlin in 1921-23 and received his diploma in chemical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology during 1923 to 1925. He then received his doctrine in mathematics in the University of Budapest in 1926.

Honors and Awards
 
Hon.D.Sc. Princeton University, 1947
Medal for Merit  1947
Distinguished Civilian Service Award 1947
Hon.D.Sc. University of Pennsylvania, 1950
Hon.D.Sc. Harvard University, 1950
Hon.D.Sc. University of Istanbul, 1952
Hon.D.Sc. Case Institute of Technology, 1952
Hon.D.Sc. University of Maryland, 1952
Hon.D.Sc. Institute of Polytechnics, 1953
Medal of Freedom 1956
Albert Einstein Commemorative Award 1956
Enrico Fermi Award 1956

Contributions to Science

    John von Neumann built a solid framework for quantum mechanics. This is a theory based on the properties of subatomic particles and the interactions of matter and radiation.
 

    Von Neumann also played a major role in the game theory. He is known as the "father of the game theory" who wrote several papers on games of chance. The game theory is known as the mathematical analysis of a situation where there is a conflict of interest. Its roots are from such classic games as checkers and poker. The word game refers to a conflict between a certain amount of people. It consists of moves (the way in which the game progresses), playoff (the outcome of the game), and strategy (a list of choices for each stage of the given game). Although the theory is based on board games, it is used in such situations as submarine warfare and air defense.

    "Rings of Operators" was a project that John was involved in. Known as von Neumann algebra, he was able to investigate spaces with continuously varying dimensions.

    The memory used in the computer was invented by von Neumann. Before memory, information was fed into the machine on a roll of punched paper tape. This did not have to be done when memory was put in place. The instructions were stored in the memory of the computer, which freed the computer from the speed limitations of the paper tape. Also, problems could then be solved without the rewiring of the computer. He adopted the "bit" as the form of measurement of computer memory.

    John von Neumann also contributed to the architecture of the computer. Known as "von Neumann Architecture," it refers to the basic control- flow used in most computers. It consists of a central processing unit, input devices, output devices, memory, and a communications network.

    During the later years of W.W.II von Neumann played a part of an executive management consultant where he applied his ability to rapidly solve problems.

Political Ties

    John von Neumann was a consultant for the United States Armed Forces during World War II. During that time he gave them a proposal of the implosion method for bringing nuclear fuel to explosion. He also participated in the development of the hydrogen bomb. President Eisenhower appointed him to the Atomic Energy Commission in 1955.

    He died on February 8,1957 in Washington, DC. This was due to cancer.
 

Works Cited

Early Computers.Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.(Vol.7;pp.76).

First Fabulous Fact Finder.Electric-words.<http://electric-words.com/dict/v/vonneumannarchitecture.html>.6 January 2001.

Game Theory.Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.(Vol.11,pp.181).

John von Neumann.<http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/vonneumann.html>.6 January 2001.

John von Neumann.Purdue.<http://www.stat.purdue.edu/~yiannis/neumann.html>.7 January 2001.

Neumann, John von.Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.(Vol.18;pp.393).

Quantum Theory.Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.(Vol.22;pp.110).