John McCarthy (computer scientist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John McCarthy
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McCarthy at a conference in 2006
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| Born | September 4, 1927 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Died | October 24, 2011 (aged 84) Stanford, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Princeton University, California Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Artificial intelligence, Lisp, circumscription, situation calculus |
| Awards | Turing Award (1971) Computer Pioneer Award (1985) IJCAI Award for Research Excellence (1985) Kyoto Prize (1988) National Medal of Science (1990) Benjamin Franklin Medal (2003) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, Princeton University |
| Doctoral advisor | Donald C. Spencer |
| Doctoral students | Ruzena Bajcsy Ramanathan V. Guha Barbara Liskov Hans Moravec Raj Reddy |
John McCarthy (born September 4, 1927 – died October 24, 2011) was a brilliant American computer scientist. He was one of the main founders of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is about making computers think and learn like humans.
McCarthy helped create the term "artificial intelligence." He also invented the important programming language called Lisp. He made computers easier to use by popularizing "time-sharing". This allowed many people to use one computer at the same time. McCarthy also invented "garbage collection" for computers. This helps computers manage their memory. He spent most of his career at Stanford University. He won many awards for his amazing work.
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Early Life and Education
John McCarthy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1927. His parents were immigrants. His family moved often during the Great Depression. They finally settled in Los Angeles, California.
His parents encouraged him to learn and think critically. Before high school, he became interested in science. He read a Russian science book for kids called 100,000 Whys. John learned to speak Russian fluently. He made friends with Russian scientists during trips to the Soviet Union. However, he became a Republican after visiting the Soviet Bloc in 1968.
Learning Mathematics Early
McCarthy was very good at mathematics from a young age. As a teenager, he taught himself college-level math. He studied textbooks from the nearby California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Because of this, he skipped the first two years of math at Caltech.
He graduated from Belmont High School two years early. He was accepted into Caltech in 1944. McCarthy was briefly suspended from Caltech. He then served in the US Army. After returning, he earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in mathematics in 1948.
At Caltech, he heard a lecture by John von Neumann. This talk inspired his future work in computers. McCarthy later earned his PhD in mathematics from Princeton University in 1951.
Academic Career
After working briefly at Princeton and Stanford University, McCarthy became a professor. He taught at Dartmouth in 1955.
A year later, he moved to MIT in 1956. His students at MIT affectionately called him "Uncle John."
In 1962, McCarthy became a full professor at Stanford. He stayed there until he retired in 2000. He believed in using mathematics to help computers think with "common sense".
Contributions to Computer Science
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John McCarthy is one of the "founding fathers" of artificial intelligence. Other pioneers include Alan Turing and Marvin Minsky.
Coining "Artificial Intelligence"
In 1956, McCarthy, Minsky, and others wrote a proposal. This document first used the term "artificial intelligence" (AI). This led to the famous Dartmouth conference. This conference officially started AI as a field of study.
Developing Lisp and Other Languages
In 1958, McCarthy created the Lisp programming language. Lisp was special because it could work with symbols, not just numbers. It quickly became the top choice for AI programs.
He also helped design ALGOL 60, another important programming language. He suggested using "recursion" and "conditional expressions" in ALGOL. These ideas became key parts of the language.
Inventing Garbage Collection
Around 1959, McCarthy invented "garbage collection". This is a way for computers to automatically manage their memory. It helps Lisp programs run smoothly by cleaning up unused data.
Pioneering Time-Sharing
McCarthy was very important in creating early time-sharing systems. These systems allowed many users to share one powerful computer at the same time. This was a huge step forward!
His colleague, Lester Earnest, said that the internet would not have happened so soon without McCarthy's work on time-sharing. Earnest explained that what we now call "cloud computing" is really just a new name for time-sharing.
In 1961, McCarthy suggested the idea of "utility computing". He thought that computer power could be sold like water or electricity. This idea is now seen in things like cloud computing.
Computer Chess and Logic
In 1966, McCarthy's team at Stanford created a computer program to play chess. They played games against a team in the Soviet Union.
From 1978 to 1986, McCarthy developed a method called "circumscription". This was a way for AI systems to reason with incomplete information.
He also came up with the idea of a "space fountain" in 1982. This was a concept for a tower that could reach into space.
Other Activities
McCarthy often shared his thoughts on world events online. He believed that human progress was good and sustainable. He loved reading books and was a big supporter of free speech.
He strongly believed in the importance of mathematics. His email signature for years said, "He who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense." He helped guide 30 students to earn their PhDs.
In 2001, he wrote a short story called "The Robot and the Baby." This story explored whether robots should have emotions. It also predicted parts of how the internet and social media would grow.
Personal Life
McCarthy was married three times. His second wife, Vera Watson, was a programmer and mountaineer. She sadly died in 1978 while trying to climb a mountain. He later married Carolyn Talcott, who was also a computer scientist.
McCarthy was raised in a Communist family. However, he became a conservative Republican after visiting Czechoslovakia in 1968. He died at his home in Stanford on October 24, 2011.
Awards and Honors
John McCarthy received many important awards for his work:
- Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (1971). This is like the Nobel Prize for computer science.
- Kyoto Prize (1988).
- National Medal of Science (USA) (1990).
- Inducted into the Computer History Museum Hall of Fame (1999).
- Benjamin Franklin Medal (2003).
- Inducted into IEEE Intelligent Systems' AI's Hall of Fame (2011).
- Named as one of the 2012 Stanford Engineering Heroes.
See also
