COMPUTER SCIENTIST
John Backus
1924 - 2007
John Backus
John Warner Backus (December 3, 1924 – March 17, 2007) was an American computer scientist. He led the team that invented and implemented FORTRAN, the first widely used high-level programming language, and was the inventor of the Backus–Naur form (BNF), a widely used notation to define syntaxes of formal languages. He later did research into the function-level programming paradigm, presenting his findings in his influential 1977 Turing Award lecture "Can Programming Be Liberated from the von Neumann Style?" The IEEE awarded Backus the W. W. McDowell Award in 1967 for the development of FORTRAN. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of John Backus has received more than 511,387 page views. His biography is available in 52 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 48 in 2019). John Backus is the 18th most popular computer scientist (up from 24th in 2019), the 1,360th most popular biography from United States (up from 1,697th in 2019) and the 11th most popular American Computer Scientist.
Memorability Metrics
510k
Page Views (PV)
60.66
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
52
Languages Editions (L)
7.71
Effective Languages (L*)
3.86
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among COMPUTER SCIENTISTS
Among computer scientists, John Backus ranks 18 out of 245. Before him are Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Edgar F. Codd, Marvin Minsky, Ivan Sutherland, George Dantzig, and Ray Kurzweil. After him are Ken Thompson, Dorothy Vaughan, Vint Cerf, Guido van Rossum, Alan Kay, and Larry Page.
Most Popular Computer Scientists in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsAndrew S. Tanenbaum
1944 - Present
HPI: 61.95
Rank: 12
Edgar F. Codd
1923 - 2003
HPI: 61.94
Rank: 13
Marvin Minsky
1927 - 2016
HPI: 61.17
Rank: 14
Ivan Sutherland
1938 - Present
HPI: 61.01
Rank: 15
George Dantzig
1914 - 2005
HPI: 60.92
Rank: 16
Ray Kurzweil
1948 - Present
HPI: 60.71
Rank: 17
John Backus
1924 - 2007
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 18
Ken Thompson
1943 - Present
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 19
Dorothy Vaughan
1910 - 2008
HPI: 60.61
Rank: 20
Vint Cerf
1943 - Present
HPI: 59.71
Rank: 21
Guido van Rossum
1956 - Present
HPI: 59.66
Rank: 22
Alan Kay
1940 - Present
HPI: 59.22
Rank: 23
Larry Page
1973 - Present
HPI: 59.06
Rank: 24
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1924, John Backus ranks 61. Before him are Giovanni Sartori, Ante Marković, Vladimir Kryuchkov, Dorothy Malone, Guy Williams, and Bulat Okudzhava. After him are Ahmadou Ahidjo, Ephraim Kishon, Hermann Buhl, Madame Nhu, Georges Prêtre, and Roberts Blossom. Among people deceased in 2007, John Backus ranks 46. Before him are Lois Maxwell, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, Jean-Claude Brialy, Paul Watzlawick, Norman Mailer, and Gaston Thorn. After him are E. Howard Hunt, Taha Yassin Ramadan, Paul Lauterbur, Petar Stambolić, Michel Serrault, and Bob Denard.
Others Born in 1924
Go to all RankingsGiovanni Sartori
BIOLOGIST
1924 - 2017
HPI: 61.36
Rank: 55
Ante Marković
POLITICIAN
1924 - 2011
HPI: 61.13
Rank: 56
Vladimir Kryuchkov
POLITICIAN
1924 - 2007
HPI: 61.09
Rank: 57
Dorothy Malone
ACTOR
1924 - 2018
HPI: 61.08
Rank: 58
Guy Williams
ACTOR
1924 - 1989
HPI: 60.97
Rank: 59
Bulat Okudzhava
WRITER
1924 - 1997
HPI: 60.74
Rank: 60
John Backus
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
1924 - 2007
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 61
Ahmadou Ahidjo
POLITICIAN
1924 - 1989
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 62
Ephraim Kishon
WRITER
1924 - 2005
HPI: 60.53
Rank: 63
Hermann Buhl
MOUNTAINEER
1924 - 1957
HPI: 60.46
Rank: 64
Madame Nhu
POLITICIAN
1924 - 2011
HPI: 60.46
Rank: 65
Georges Prêtre
MUSICIAN
1924 - 2017
HPI: 60.44
Rank: 66
Roberts Blossom
ACTOR
1924 - 2011
HPI: 60.24
Rank: 67
Others Deceased in 2007
Go to all RankingsLois Maxwell
ACTOR
1927 - 2007
HPI: 60.95
Rank: 40
Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
PHYSICIST
1912 - 2007
HPI: 60.91
Rank: 41
Jean-Claude Brialy
ACTOR
1933 - 2007
HPI: 60.90
Rank: 42
Paul Watzlawick
PSYCHOLOGIST
1921 - 2007
HPI: 60.88
Rank: 43
Norman Mailer
WRITER
1923 - 2007
HPI: 60.87
Rank: 44
Gaston Thorn
POLITICIAN
1928 - 2007
HPI: 60.75
Rank: 45
John Backus
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
1924 - 2007
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 46
E. Howard Hunt
WRITER
1918 - 2007
HPI: 60.60
Rank: 47
Taha Yassin Ramadan
EXTREMIST
1938 - 2007
HPI: 60.21
Rank: 48
Paul Lauterbur
CHEMIST
1929 - 2007
HPI: 59.89
Rank: 49
Petar Stambolić
POLITICIAN
1912 - 2007
HPI: 59.89
Rank: 50
Michel Serrault
ACTOR
1928 - 2007
HPI: 59.56
Rank: 51
Bob Denard
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1929 - 2007
HPI: 59.54
Rank: 52
In United States
Among people born in United States, John Backus ranks 1,360 out of 20,380. Before him are Mark Spitz (1950), John Mott (1865), Donald J. Cram (1919), Don King (1931), Stephanie Kwolek (1923), and Cybill Shepherd (1950). After him are Etta James (1938), John G. Avildsen (1935), Tyler Perry (1969), Dave Mustaine (1961), Mike Powell (1963), and Martin Balsam (1919).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsMark Spitz
SWIMMER
1950 - Present
HPI: 60.69
Rank: 1,354
John Mott
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1865 - 1955
HPI: 60.69
Rank: 1,355
Donald J. Cram
CHEMIST
1919 - 2001
HPI: 60.68
Rank: 1,356
Don King
CELEBRITY
1931 - Present
HPI: 60.68
Rank: 1,357
Stephanie Kwolek
CHEMIST
1923 - 2014
HPI: 60.68
Rank: 1,358
Cybill Shepherd
ACTOR
1950 - Present
HPI: 60.67
Rank: 1,359
John Backus
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
1924 - 2007
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 1,360
Etta James
SINGER
1938 - 2012
HPI: 60.65
Rank: 1,361
John G. Avildsen
FILM DIRECTOR
1935 - 2017
HPI: 60.65
Rank: 1,362
Tyler Perry
ACTOR
1969 - Present
HPI: 60.64
Rank: 1,363
Dave Mustaine
MUSICIAN
1961 - Present
HPI: 60.64
Rank: 1,364
Mike Powell
ATHLETE
1963 - Present
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 1,365
Martin Balsam
ACTOR
1919 - 1996
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 1,366
Among COMPUTER SCIENTISTS In United States
Among computer scientists born in United States, John Backus ranks 11. Before him are John McCarthy (1927), Andrew S. Tanenbaum (1944), Marvin Minsky (1927), Ivan Sutherland (1938), George Dantzig (1914), and Ray Kurzweil (1948). After him are Ken Thompson (1943), Dorothy Vaughan (1910), Vint Cerf (1943), Alan Kay (1940), Larry Page (1973), and Kevin Mitnick (1963).
John McCarthy
1927 - 2011
HPI: 64.65
Rank: 5
Andrew S. Tanenbaum
1944 - Present
HPI: 61.95
Rank: 6
Marvin Minsky
1927 - 2016
HPI: 61.17
Rank: 7
Ivan Sutherland
1938 - Present
HPI: 61.01
Rank: 8
George Dantzig
1914 - 2005
HPI: 60.92
Rank: 9
Ray Kurzweil
1948 - Present
HPI: 60.71
Rank: 10
John Backus
1924 - 2007
HPI: 60.66
Rank: 11
Ken Thompson
1943 - Present
HPI: 60.63
Rank: 12
Dorothy Vaughan
1910 - 2008
HPI: 60.61
Rank: 13
Vint Cerf
1943 - Present
HPI: 59.71
Rank: 14
Alan Kay
1940 - Present
HPI: 59.22
Rank: 15
Larry Page
1973 - Present
HPI: 59.06
Rank: 16
Kevin Mitnick
1963 - 2023
HPI: 57.98
Rank: 17