1926-1992

Hungarian computer scientist who, with Thomas Kurtz, developed the computer language BASIC. A far simpler language than FORTRAN, COBOL, or other languages that existed at the time, BASIC was eventually transformed into more flexible and powerful variants, such as Visual Basic, used in many consumer software products. BASIC, an acronym for "Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code," was originally designed in 1964 to help teach computer programming to students at Dartmouth University.