The
Hungarian Embassy hosted a commemoration today to pay tribute the
great Hungarian scientist, John (János) von Neumann on his 100th
birthday. The guests of honor included John Marburger III,
Adviser to the President, Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and Gyorgy Csepeli, Political State Secretary of
the Ministry of Informatics and Communications of the Republic of
Hungary.
Following
opening remarks by Ambassador András Simonyi, Mr. Marburger and
Mr. Csepeli spoke in praise of the Hungarian-born scientist his best
friend, Edward Teller, called "the greatest mathematician of the
20th century."
The
keynote speaker of the event, George Dyson, historian of S&T
focused on Neumann's achievements in creating the first electronic
computer in Princeton followed by a personal remembrance by Nicholas
A. Vonneuman, John's brother..
John
von Neumann was born in Budapest on December
28, 1903 and died in Washington, D.C. on February 8, 1957. John
von Neumann was perhaps the most outstanding Hungarian mathematician
of all times - a universal genius. The scope of his achievements
defies categorization and covers almost all fields of mathematics,
extending into theoretical physics. Apart from laying down the
foundations of computer science, he had brilliant problem-solving
skills and a great talent for abstraction. It is often said that
mathematicians prove whatever they can, but John Neumann proved just
about anything he wanted to.
