When Fortran ran for the first time
This article profiles John Backus, the American computer scientist who led the team that created the Fortran programming language. It details his early life, academic struggles, and eventual transition into the field of computing.
Why it matters
Fortran was a foundational development in computer science that fundamentally changed how humans interact with machines.
We are living in an age when most of us interact with one computer or another every single day. With the explosion of devices and the internet of things, and the artificial intelligence that has been unleashed upon us, that interaction will only keep growing as time goes on.
As devices become smarter and come equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the way we communicate with them has also been constantly evolving. One of the earliest such changes that fundamentally altered the terms of communication between humans and computers came in the form of Fortran. The team behind Fortran, which changed programming forever, was led by American computer scientist John Backus, also referred to as the father of Fortran.
John Backus | Photo Credit: PIerre.Lescanne / Wikimedia Commons
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