ProofWiki:Mathematicians/John von Neumann

Born Neumann János Lajos in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Made major contributions to a vast range of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, continuous geometry, economics, game theory, computer science, numerical analysis and statistics, to name but a few.

He is generally regarded as one of the foremost mathematicians in modern history.

Nationality

Hungarian/American

History

• Born: 28 Dec 1903, Budapest, Hungary
• Died: 8 Feb 1957, Washington D.C., USA

Theorems and Definitions

• Stone-von Neumann Theorem
• Von Neumann-Bernays-Gödel Set Theory
• Von Neumann Algebra
• Von Neumann Architecture
• Von Neumann Bicommutant Theorem
• Von Neumann Conjecture
• Von Neumann Entropy
• Von Neumann Programming Languages
• Von Neumann Regular Ring
• Von Neumann Universal Constructor
• Von Neumann Universe

Notable Quotes

• "As a mathematical discipline travels far from its empirical source, or still more, if it is a second or third generation only indirectly inspired by ideas coming from "reality," it is beset with very grave dangers. It becomes more and more purely aestheticising, more and more purely l'art pour l'art. This need not be bad, if the field is surrounded by correlated subjects, which still have closer empirical connections, or if the discipline is under the influence of men with an exceptionally well-developed taste. But there is a grave danger that the subject will develop along the line of least resistance, that the stream, so far from its source, will separate into a multitude of insignificant branches, and that the discipline will become a disorganised mass of details and complexities. In other words, at a great distance from its empirical source, or after much "abstract" inbreeding, a mathematical subject is in danger of degeneration."

See also

• John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "John von Neumann": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive