Noam Chomsky (1928-Present)

Birth of Noam Chomsky

Dec 7, 1928

His birth name Avram Noam Chomsky, born in Philadelphia 7 December 1928, superceded his father, William Chomsky, who was a coveted Hebrew scholar. ((“Obo.” Noam Chomsky - Linguistics - Oxford Bibliographies, 20 Aug. 2019, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199772810/obo-9780199772810-0142.xml.))

University

1945

At the young age of 16, Chomsky began attendance at the University of Pennsylvania. After two years of study (which didn't interest him much), he met linguist Zellig S. Harris, a founder of structural linguistics. ((McGilvray, James A. “Noam Chomsky.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 July 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noam-Chomsky.))

Change of Institutes

1951

After attending several graduate level classes of Harris' and growing his own thoughts toward philosophy, Harris introduced Noam Chomsky to a colleague, Nathan Fine, at Harvard. He transferred universities to complete his Masters degree to combine the philosophy of science to the realm of linguistics. ((McGilvray, James A. “Noam Chomsky.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 July 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noam-Chomsky.))

Obtaining a PhD

1955

In 1955, Chomsky received his PhD in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. His studies prior to obtaining his final degree were met with resistance by many esteemed scientists within the field, including his own professor, Zellig Harris, who ignored his observations. ((McGilvray, James A. “Noam Chomsky.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 July 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noam-Chomsky.))

From Student to Professor

1956

After obtaining his PhD, Chomsky was invited to participate as a professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He would spend over half a century with MIT before retiring in 2005. ((“Noam Chomsky.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 16 Apr. 2019, https://www.biography.com/scholar/noam-chomsky.))

MIT Projects

1957

After publishing 'Syntactic Structures', a revised series of lectures he provided to his undergraduate students, MIT asked Chomsky and his colleague Morris Halle to create a new graduate linguistics program, which evolved to attract other astute scholars like Jerold Katz and Paul Postal. ((“Noam Chomsky.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 16 Apr. 2019, https://www.biography.com/scholar/noam-chomsky.))

Acceptance of His Study

1966

Following the publication of two more of his books in the mid 1960s, Chomsky's views on the study of language relating to the mind became more widely accepted. He finally came to be regarded as the definitive refutation of behaviourist accounts of language learning'. ((McGilvray, James A. “Noam Chomsky.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 July 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Noam-Chomsky.))

The LSLT

1975

The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory was published to showcase Chomsky's theory of linguistics. Later experiments in cognitive science supported his theories. They eventually grew in popularity and the faction of cognitive science becamre more pronounced. ((“Obo.” Noam Chomsky - Linguistics - Oxford Bibliographies, 20 Aug. 2019, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199772810/obo-9780199772810-0142.xml.))

Chomsky Interview

1976

Provided is a link to a brief video where Noam Chomsky interviews regarding the acquisition of articulation and the unique structure of language. The interview is an exerpt from an episode of 'Day at Night' flimed in the mid 1970s. It was published online late 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3U6MsdBalg

Acknowledgement

1984

After years of dedicated work to progress his field of study, Noam Chomsky became the recipient of the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association.
((Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association))

Retirement

2005

In his retirement from active instruction in 2005, Chomsky continues to play an esteemed roll in the development of cognitive linguistics and will author books at his leisure. ((“Obo.” Noam Chomsky - Linguistics - Oxford Bibliographies, 20 Aug. 2019, https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199772810/obo-9780199772810-0142.xml.))