Mathematician
John von Neumann
In Hungarian, surname first: Neumann Janos, pronounced roughly NOY-mon YAH-nosh.
Also Known As Neumann Janos Lajos
Modern
John von Neumann was a Hungarian American mathematician, physicist and computer scientist whose work spanned pure mathematics, quantum mechanics, game theory and the foundations of computing. He proved the minimax theorem for two person zero sum games in 1928, founding mathematical game theory, and in 1944 gave the theory its first general treatment with Oskar Morgenstern in Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. He later became a central figure in the design of the stored program computer and in the Manhattan Project.
Facts
Death PlaceWashington, D.C., United States 2 Nationality / Culture Defining ContributionProved the minimax theorem for two person zero sum games in 1928, founding mathematical game theory. 3 Notable WorkTheory of Games and Economic Behavior (1944, with Oskar Morgenstern) 4 Notable WorkZur Theorie der Gesellschaftsspiele (1928), proving the minimax theorem 3 Connections
Associated With
Source MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
Matrix, Concepts Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (1944) represents the payoffs of a game as a matrix, a standard term used throughout that book.
Source von Neumann and Morgenstern, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (1944)John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern
Additional Source MacTutor History of Mathematics Archivehttps://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Von_Neumann/
In Branch
Source von Neumann, Zur Theorie der Gesellschaftsspiele (1928)John von Neumann
Proofs Credited
Source Wikipedia: Minimax Theorem
Additional Source von Neumann, Zur Theorie der Gesellschaftsspiele (1928)John von Neumann
Source Von Neumann-Morgenstern utility theorem (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
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Also in Science Atlas: the same subject.
Source MacTutor History of Mathematics Archivetier 1
Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: the same subject.
Source MacTutor History of Mathematics Archivetier 1
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: John von Neumanntier 2
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: John von Neumanntier 2
Sources
1. Wikipedia: John von Neumann
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Von Neumann had perhaps the widest breadth of any mathematician of his time, integrating pure and applied sciences and making major contributions to many fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, computing, and statistics.
2. MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
University of St Andrews, School of Mathematics and Statisticshttps://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Von_Neumann/Quote, https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Von_Neumann/
John Von Neumann built a solid framework for quantum mechanics. He also worked in game theory, studied what are now called von Neumann Algebras, and was one of the pioneers of computer science.
3. von Neumann, Zur Theorie der Gesellschaftsspiele (1928)
John von Neumann, Mathematische Annalen, vol. 100, 1928
4. von Neumann and Morgenstern, Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (1944)
John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, Princeton University Press, 1944
Wikipedia: Minimax Theorem
Wikimedia FoundationProofs Credited: Minimax Theorem, Lead sectionQuote, Proofs Credited: Minimax Theorem, Lead section
The first theorem in this sense is von Neumann's minimax theorem about two-player zero-sum games published in 1928, which is considered the starting point of game theory.
Von Neumann-Morgenstern utility theorem (Wikipedia)
Proofs Credited: Von Neumann-Morgenstern Utility Theorem, LeadQuote, Proofs Credited: Von Neumann-Morgenstern Utility Theorem, Lead
In 1947, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern proved that any individual whose preferences satisfied four axioms has a utility function, where such an individual's preferences can be represented on an interval scale and the individual will always prefer actions that maximize expected utility.
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Proofs Credited: Minimax Theorem
In a 1953 Econometrica article, Maurice Frechet argued that Emile Borel, in papers published between 1921 and 1927, should be credited as the true initiator of game theory ahead of von Neumann, even though Borel himself never proved the minimax theorem. Von Neumann replied in the same issue, defending his own 1928 paper as the first rigorous proof and the founding result of the mathematical theory. The credit for founding game theory is genuinely contested in this narrow sense: Borel raised the questions first, von Neumann proved the theorem first.
A dissenting reading, from Maurice Frechet (1953)Maurice Frechet, Frechet, Emile Borel, Initiator of the Theory of Psychological Games and Its Application (1953), Econometrica, vol. 21, no. 1, 1953
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