1903
John von Neumann is born
A mathematical prodigy, von Neumann went on to make major contributions to mathematics, physics, economics and computing. During and after the Second World War he became one of the most influential figures in the development of the electronic computer.
In 1945, von Neumann wrote the influential First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, describing a stored-program computer in which both instructions and data could be held in electronic memory. This became a foundation for the computer architecture that would later become known as the von Neumann architecture.
Von Neumann subsequently led the development of the IAS computer at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Completed in the early 1950s, its design became the model for numerous other computers, including machines such as JOHNNIAC, MANIAC and ILLIAC.
The principle of storing programs and data in the same memory remains fundamental to the architecture of most general-purpose computers.
Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy — Public Domain
In 1945, von Neumann wrote the influential First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, describing a stored-program computer in which both instructions and data could be held in electronic memory. This became a foundation for the computer architecture that would later become known as the von Neumann architecture.
Von Neumann subsequently led the development of the IAS computer at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Completed in the early 1950s, its design became the model for numerous other computers, including machines such as JOHNNIAC, MANIAC and ILLIAC.
The principle of storing programs and data in the same memory remains fundamental to the architecture of most general-purpose computers.
Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy — Public Domain