John Forbes Nash, Jr. is a brilliant mathematician who many consider to be a genius. He was born on June 13, 1928 to John and Virginia Nash in Bluefield, West Virginia. He and his sister grew up in comfortable circumstance since his father had steady employment with Appalachian Power during the Depression. As a child, he was introverted and a loner but bright and curious. While in high school, he was enrolled in courses in English, science and math at Bluefield College. After taking courses at Bluefield College, he won a Westinghouse Scholarship to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which he attended from 1945 - 1948.