Timeline: John McCarthy Timeline

1927

John McCarthy is born

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1927 (Britannica).

1948

Received B.S. in Mathematics

John McCarthy received his degree from California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He was admitted into this university when he was only 16 years old (CHM).

1951

Received his Ph. D. in Mathematics

John McCarthy received his Ph.D.. in Mathematics at Princeton University (CHM).

1955

Coined the term Artificial Intelligence

After creating AI, John McCarthy official named this invention "Artificial Intelligence" (Britannica).

1956

Lead Dartmouth Conference

John McCarthy lead this meeting to birth this field of research. He talks about the future of machine learning (Britannica).

1958

Created LISP Programming Language

John McCarthy created the LISP programming language. Which was the first programming language with a simple mathematical semantics. It became the implementation language for artificial intelligence applications (Marcus, 216).

1959

Invented Garbage Collection

McCarthy's invention was used to manage memory automatically. It also served as an aid for LISP (Britannica).

1961

Developed the Time-Sharing Systems

McCarthy helped developed the time-sharing programming systems that helped in the field of computer engineering. It allowed others to work on the same program on different computers (Marcus).

1963

Introduced Situation Calculus

John McCarthy introduced the study of situation calculus, the study of dynamic systems in logic (CHM).

1963

Established SAIL (Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory)

McCarthy established the artificial intelligence laboratory at Stanford University (Britannica).

1966

Designed Kotok-McCarthy

Created a program on IBM 704 (Hulking Giant) with some of his classmates, that was used to play chess against another computer in the Soviet Union (CHM).

1969

Refined Situation Calculus Concept

With the help of Hayes, McCarthy refined his outlook on dynamic systems in logic. He changed his reasoning behind the situational calculus concept (CHM).

1971

Received the ACM Turing Award

John McCarthy received this award for his contributions in the field of computers (CHM).

1988

Received the Kyoto Prize

McCarthy received Japan's Kyoto Prize, for his work in Artificial Intelligence and computers (CHM).

1990

Awarded National Medal of Science

McCarthy received this award for his contributions in mathematical, statistical, and computational sciences (CHM).

1997

IBM Supercomputer beats Garry Kasparov (World Champion Chess Player)

McCarthy designed an AI computer to play chess against Garry Kasparov, the current world champion. The IBM Supercomputer won, sparking the rise of AI and showcasing its intelligence to the public (Catiana). Hers's a great video on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF6sLCeBj0s

2002

AI Home Appliances Released

McCarthy's AI started releasing home appliances. Starting with the Roomba, AI has been been introduced in millions of households across the world.

2003

Received the Benjamin Franklin Award

McCarthy received the Benjamin Franklin Award for his work in computer and cognitive science (Marcus).

2011

AI beats Jeopardy Champions

McCarthy's AI defeated jeopardy champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter (Catiana). Here's a link to a video on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P18EdAKuC1U