Backus, John
Backus, John
(1924– ) mathematician, computer specialist; born in Philadelphia. He was the project leader of the group at International Business Machines (IBM) that developed FORTRAN (1953–57), the first high-level language in data processing. He also worked on the IBM 704 computer with Gene Amdahl during the 1950s and worked on ALGOL 58 and 60.The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.