# John Backus

> American computer scientist (1924–2007)

**Wikidata**: [Q92746](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q92746)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Backus)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-backus

## Summary
John Backus was an American computer scientist best known for leading the development of FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language. His work laid the foundation for modern software development and earned him the Turing Award in 1977.

## Biography
- Born: December 3, 1924, in Philadelphia
- Nationality: United States
- Education: University of Virginia (chemistry, 1942-1943), Columbia University (mathematics, M.S., 1950)
- Known for: Developing FORTRAN, creating Backus-Naur Form (BNF), pioneering functional programming
- Employer(s): IBM (1950-1991), United States Army (1943-1945)
- Field(s): Computer science, informatics

## Contributions
John Backus led the IBM team that created FORTRAN (Formula Translation) in 1957, the first widely used high-level programming language that revolutionized scientific computing by allowing programmers to write code in a more natural mathematical notation rather than machine code. He also developed Speedcoding in 1953, an early compiler for the IBM 701. Backus introduced Backus-Naur Form (BNF) in the late 1950s, a notation for describing the syntax of programming languages that became a standard in computer science. In the 1970s, he created FP (Functional Programming), exploring declarative programming paradigms. His work on FORTRAN made programming accessible to scientists and engineers, dramatically increasing productivity and enabling complex numerical computations that were previously impractical.

## FAQs
### Q: What is John Backus most famous for?
A: John Backus is most famous for leading the development of FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language, which transformed how scientists and engineers write software.

### Q: What is Backus-Naur Form (BNF)?
A: Backus-Naur Form is a notation system developed by John Backus for describing the syntax of programming languages, which became a fundamental tool in computer science for language specification.

### Q: When did John Backus work at IBM?
A: John Backus worked at IBM from 1950 to 1991, during which time he led the FORTRAN project and made numerous other contributions to computer science.

## Why They Matter
John Backus fundamentally changed computer programming by making it accessible to non-specialists through FORTRAN, which became the foundation for modern programming languages. Before FORTRAN, programming required detailed knowledge of machine architecture and was extremely time-consuming. His creation of BNF provided a universal way to describe programming language syntax, enabling the development of compilers and interpreters for countless languages. Backus's work democratized computing, allowing scientists, engineers, and eventually business professionals to harness the power of computers without needing to understand their internal workings. The concepts he pioneered continue to influence software development today, and his emphasis on making programming more intuitive and productive remains a guiding principle in the field.

## Notable For
- Led development of FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language (1957)
- Created Backus-Naur Form (BNF), a standard notation for language syntax
- Awarded the Turing Award in 1977 for contributions to programming languages
- Received the National Medal of Science in 1975
- Pioneered functional programming concepts with FP language in 1977

## Body
### Early Life and Education
John Warner Backus was born on December 3, 1924, in Philadelphia. He attended The Hill School and briefly studied chemistry at the University of Virginia in 1942-1943 before his education was interrupted by World War II. He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945, achieving the rank of corporal.

### Career at IBM
Backus joined IBM in 1950 after completing his Master's degree in mathematics from Columbia University. He spent his entire professional career at IBM, becoming an IBM Fellow in 1963 and working there until his retirement in 1991.

### FORTRAN Development
In 1954, Backus proposed and led the development of FORTRAN (Formula Translation), which was released in 1957. This was the first high-level programming language that allowed programmers to write code using mathematical notation rather than machine code. FORTRAN dramatically improved programmer productivity and became the standard for scientific and engineering applications.

### Backus-Naur Form
In the late 1950s, Backus developed Backus-Naur Form (BNF), a formal notation for describing the syntax of programming languages. BNF became the standard way to specify language grammars and is still widely used today in compiler design and language documentation.

### Later Work and Legacy
In the 1970s, Backus explored functional programming with his FP language, published in 1977. This work influenced later developments in declarative programming. He received numerous honors including the Turing Award (1977), the National Medal of Science (1975), and the Charles Stark Draper Prize (1993). Backus died on March 17, 2007, in Ashland, and is buried at the San Francisco Columbarium.

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## References

1. Encyclopædia Britannica Online
2. Czech National Authority Database
3. MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
4. Find a Grave
5. [Source](https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/builders/builders_backus.html)
6. [John Backus. Association for Computing Machinery](https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/backus_0703524.cfm)
7. [Source](https://www.nae.edu/55073/John-Backus)
8. [Source](https://events.seas.upenn.edu/distinguished-lectures/pender-lecture/)
9. [Source](https://web.archive.org/web/20100709005030/http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/John,Backus/)
10. [Source](https://www.sigplan.org/Awards/Achievement/)
11. Journal officiel de la République française. 1989
12. Virtual International Authority File
13. NNDB
14. [John Backus – NAS](https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/john-backus-igklr8/)
15. [Source](http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102657970)
16. SNAC
17. [John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies. John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies. 2007](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/obituaries/20cnd-backus.html)
18. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
19. Quora