Discover
Discover

Share
Obituaries
/
Article

Obituary of John W. Backus

MAR 21, 2007

DOI: 10.1063/PT.4.2373

Physics Today

John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies

The New York Times

John Backus

Wikipedia

John Backus, 82; developed Fortran

Los Angeles Times

© 2007 American Institute of Physics
Related content
Obituaries
/
Article
Peder Jan Estrup
(15 July 1931 – 18 September 2025) The world-renowned scientist in both chemistry and physics spent most of his career at Brown University.
December 16, 2025 12:18 PM
Obituaries
/
Article
Svetlen Tonchev
(24 August 1954 – 4 July 2025) The optical physicist was one of the world’s foremost experts in diffraction gratings.
December 10, 2025 09:57 AM
Obituaries
/
Article
Michael R. Moldover
(19 July 1940 – 8 August 2025) The NIST physicist revolutionized temperature measurements that led to a new definition of the kelvin.
September 03, 2025 03:20 PM
Obituaries
/
Article
Wolfgang Moritz
(24 September 1943 – 29 October 2024) The German physicist was a pioneer in quantitative surface structure determination, using mainly low-energy electron diffraction and surface x-ray diffraction.
August 25, 2025 07:00 PM

Get PT in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.