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The Life of John McCarthy: The Father of Artificial Intelligence

By marinadunn

  • John McCarthy is born

    John McCarthy was born in Boston, MA to John Patrick, and Ida Glatt McCarthy, both of whom were immigrants. Because of financial troubles due to the Great Depression, and John's health as a child, the family was forced to move to California.
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    Private in the U.S. Army

    McCarthy was suspended from school for a rime for failure to attend mandatory physical education classes, so he entered the army. He was eventually allowed to return to Caltech to finish his degree.

  • Graduates from Caltech

    John McCarthy earns his undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology in Mathematics, after having entered the school at only 17. He was able to skip 2 years of mathematics after having taught himself before starting school.

  • Earns Doctorate from Princeton

    McCarthy earned a PhD in Mathematics, under his doctoral advisor Solomon Lefschetz. Princeton is also where he met and became friends with Marvin Lee Minsky.
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    Instructor at Princeton University

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    Assistant Professor at Stanford University

  • Publishes "A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence

    John McCarthy was the author of "A Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence," which is where he first coined the term "artificial intelligence." From here onwards, he was known as the leader in the field of artificial intelligence.
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    McCarthy attends MIT as a Sloan Fellow

    McCarthy chose to spend his 1-year Sloan fellowship at Massachussetts Institute of Technology because of its access to an IBM computer, and because his friend Marvin Minsky was there.
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    McCarthy continues work at MIT as a faculty member

    During this time, McCarthy worked on developing the idea of artificial intelligence, and created the second programming language after FORTRAN, LISP. He also pioneered the idea of time-sharing systems. The TMRC looked up to McCarthy as a teacher during these years. He also created th AI Laboratory at MIT.
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    Returned to Stanford University to become a full professor

    During this time, McCarthy advised 30 PhD students, and created a time-share system funded by Advance Research Projects Agency, and constructed by Bolt Beranek and Newman (where McCarthy consulted), which was finished and operational by 1970.
  • McCarthy establishes Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

    McCarthy establishes Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

    Was a founding director of SAIL, which has been integral in expanding the field of artificial intelligence.

  • Wins Alan M. Turing Award of the Association for Computing Machinery

    McCarthy received the A.M. Turing Award in 1971, 2 years after Marvin Minsky.

  • Wins Research Excellence Award of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence

    Created in 1985, McCarthy won the first ever award for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence.

  • Wins Kyoto Prize

    McCarthy wins Kyoto Prize, awarded to individuals who have contributed to the "scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of mankind."

  • Wins National Medal of Science

  • John McCarthy retires

    John retired from Stanford University to become a professor emeritus.

  • John McCarthy dies at 84

    John McCarthy passes away at his home in Stanford,CA due to heart failure at age 84.